


Phoenix from the Ashes

by Quixotic_Quetzalcoatl



Series: Afternoon Tea with Prince Lotor [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Consensual Somnophilia, Digital Penetration, Double Vaginal Penetration, Edging, Erotica, Explicit Sexual Content, Gen, Oral Sex, Overstimulation, Polyamory, Tantric Kissing, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2019-10-12 13:22:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 34,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17468390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quixotic_Quetzalcoatl/pseuds/Quixotic_Quetzalcoatl
Summary: In the Sincline Legendary Defenders universe, rift creature crimes are considered especially heinous. The dedicated individuals who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Rift Hunters: this is their origin story.Lotor’s kids are now plotting sinister machinations.





	1. Ruby Red and Violet Velvet

Lotor stepped back momentarily from this truly extraordinary moment, as his children were laughing and joking with their new grandfather, and turned around to look on his own creation, Veritas. She was clearly enjoying herself, crouched on the ground, hugging her cube like a child, and watching the merriment unfold. He had to admit, the thought of three fathers was definitely overwhelming at the moment, following the tumultuous hurricane of emotions pelting down upon him this past week. Charles had truly been the first father figure in his life, and the immense amount of healing that came from that relationship was everything he had dreamed of. He exhaled and closed his eyes briefly, bathed in the warmth of the midday sun, and awash with happiness. He smiled to think that Nymuë really was a phoenix, after all. He had thought her resemblance to Nueh was an amusing figurative rebirth. And once more, when she had allowed her fears and trepidation to die, she had been reborn into a force of reckoning against which even the most powerful witch in the universe could not withstand. He never imagined, however, she could achieve a reincarnation of sorts, after a literal death, and come back to him once again.

He looked over now to Flotor who was thanking Viris and chuckled again. But he couldn’t hold back the gust of laughter that blew over him. The irony of it all was too much. Veritas and Viris, arguably the greatest war machines in all of recorded history, were nothing more than a couple of giant gentle-hearted children, with deadly, yet adorable pets. He sighed away his amusement and set his hand on Veritas, as he thanked her for everything she had done for him. 

“You have been a good father to all of us,” she replied simply. “It was the most logical way to express our thanks.”

Lotor was truly moved by that admission and felt his heart swell with happiness once again. He could hardly wait for the next chapter of their lives to begin. 

His train of thought was interrupted suddenly, as Anteros called out to both of them. “Papa, Papa! Look what it says here in the book! It also includes a compendium of information on primates, including Altean evolution. How... did I not know this?!” He turned in incredulity to his sisters. “Can you see infrared light?!” 

Esmé is a bit confused. “I don’t know? Can I?”

Eos replied as she narrows her eyes, “Oh, is that the red glow that no one else can see but us?”

Anteros crossed his arms and scoffs, “No wonder we could never sneak up on you! You could see our heat signatures!”

Endymion laughed. “So we have spies for sisters. But I don’t understand how the heat from your body doesn’t cloud your vision then? That’s why mammals on earth lack that ability. Only cold-blooded animals like snakes and frogs can see infrared light.”

“It says here that’s one of the purposes of their Altean marks. It creates a window of sight shielding their vision from their own body heat. That’s so not fair. I want special vision,” Anteros pouts. 

Nymuë laughed. “But you do have special vision, Taro root. Only you, your brother, and your fathers can see into the ultraviolet spectrum.”

“Wait, what?” Endy exclaimed. 

His mother laughed and went to retrieve a nearby flower. “What colour is this?” 

“It’s yellow with a red center,” Endy replied.

“It’s only yellow to me,” his sisters said. 

“How have we lived this long and not realized all this?!”

“So, Papa, do you see all of these colours? And how did you figure it out?” Anteros asked.

“I do,” Flotor answered with a smile. “It was a keen observation your mother had made before you were all born. She had noticed that Alteans have purple pupils and concluded they were colourblind to it since their retinas were reflecting that particular wavelength of light. She went further to hypothesize that perhaps they could see colours humans could not, similar to some species of animals living here. After some probing and questioning, we determined that the spectra visible to humans, Alteans and Galra overlap, but are not identical. After all this time, for ages upon ages, I had not realized most people could not see the colours that your father and I can. It was a thrilling discovery for something so seemingly banal and mundane. But then again,” he said tenderly as he took Nymuë’s hand and scanned her face, “everything became more beautiful after I met your mother.”

He continued to say, “I worked as quickly as I could to construct a pair of glasses before Nymuë passed to give her an opportunity to see the world as I do. By the time I finished however, she was too ill to make much use of them. Once again, I had been too late and although I have failed countless times before, this particular failure, coupled with my inability to save her life crushed me. It was why I withdrew from all of you during those last days.”

“You’re the sweetest Papa anyone could ever have,” Avélie huffed. “Stop making me cry or my face is going to be puffy tomorrow.”

He affectionately tucked her soft coral-hued curls behind her ear as he had always done and laughed as he embraced her. “I am elated beyond measure to be able to offer not just your mother a chance to view the world differently, but all of you as well. I had not known what most of you had been conspiring today, however, your father and I have had some of our own plans as well. I apologize for not telling all of you sooner about your abilities. We knew how difficult it would be integrating with the local population here, knowing you were different. We did not want to further exacerbate those differences in your minds when you were young.”

Flotor retrieved the satchel he brought with him and handed each of them a pair of seemingly ordinary sunglasses. He actually had a couple extra pairs and was able to give Zarkon one as well. 

There were astonished gasps as the children ran around with bewilderment and unadulterated wonder. 

“What colour is this?!” squeaked Avélie as she runs to the nearest flower garden. “I don’t even know what to call it! I’ve never seen such vibrant shades before!” 

Eos became teary. “I never knew the world was so lovely. Is this... is this purple?” The tears flow freely as she continues to exclaim, “I’ve never seen purple before! This is purple! How is this even possible?”

Anaïs went to Lotor and stared at him for a long time. “Papa... you... I didn’t know you looked like this,” she whispers in awe. Finally, she exhales her disbelief and wipes her tears as she embraces him. “You are more beautiful than I ever knew.”

Anteros said in quiet shock, “I had heard tetrachromats could see thousands of shades of colour everyone else could not, but I never dreamed it could be like this.”

Nymuë was the last receive her pair of glasses. Flotor took her by the hand and gently put them on for her. When she opened her eyes, she sharply inhaled her pure amazement. It was a visual symphony of all the melodies of life, and an optical ambrosia she never thought possible. The Lotors laughed to see her get on her hands and knees to inspect the shrubbery and foliage in awe. 

Zarkon sat back in his chair with his shades on and quietly enjoy the frantic children zip from one emotional extreme to another. He was glad to wear the glasses because he was getting teary too. They were one of the sweetest families he had ever encountered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, howdy, hey. Apparently I’m on tumblr now. It was imperative that I scream into the void after S8. Should you feel the sudden compulsion to subject yourself to my lame-ass puns:
> 
>  
> 
> [Quixy’s blog](https://quixotic-quetzalcoatl.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> *finger guns*
> 
> So for those who haven’t seen my lame-ass tumblr blog, I’ve been researching the Geneva Conventions to write a fic about the multiple war crimes committed against Lotor during the course of the show. Since I’ve looked into them in depth, I realized I’ve also made mistakes in my writing. POWs cannot be interrogated, or tortured. So the chapter on making the druid listen to Nickelback has been changed. I didn’t think it was considered a form of torture until I spoke with an actual veteran who stated that was what happened in the Vietnam war. Prisoners were subjected to interminable hours of kids songs. Nymuë didn’t technically interrogate Haggar and the druid otherwise. They surrendered that information on their own accord.
> 
> POWs should not be mocked either. So I’ll be changing the chapter with the improvised coke/mentos bombs. I love it even more now! Thanks to @purplelionpaladinlotor on tumblr for all the help!
> 
> The revisions have been made to 15.Arcane Night and 39.Grand Theft Altean 2 in the M&M story.


	2. Rift Hunters

Anteros took Endymion aside while everyone was still enthralled by the novel vibrancy of the world and quietly discussed his thoughts.

“Endy, I know you had wanted to combat drunk driving because of Maman’s past but I think there is a much greater threat that we face now.”

“You are speaking of the rift creatures?”

“Yes. Because they access the quintessence field at will, every reality is threatened by their existence. If they get a hold of another Honerva or Zarkon, who knows what devastation they can wreak on the multiverse.”

Endymion furrowed his brows as he turned over to see his father picking up his mother off of her knees, laughing, and planting kisses all over her face. “What do you propose then? Do we hunt them down and exterminate them?”

“Do we have a choice? Our family possesses some of the most powerful weapons known to our universe. Our parents are some of the most intelligent strategists we have ever known. We have been fortunate enough to be participants of the world’s cutting edge technology. I think we have a responsibility, an obligation, really, to the peoples of the multiverse to ensure their freedom and liberty.”

“But we know so little of them. What if some of them are good and some are bad? Can we indiscriminately invade their land and violate their right to exist?”

Anteros paused for a moment of reflection as he also looked over to his parents. Flotor had suddenly shoved Lotor out of the way, and onto the ground, grabbed Nevé, and run away with her so he too, could give her kisses. Zarkon had then joined the fray and tackled Flotor onto the ground. As they tousled each other, the girls ran away with their mother while Lotor went to deck his alternate self for his little stunt. 

“Well, what we do know, is that they attacked two different realities with similar devastating consequences. I would liken them to a parasite, or a virus. Viruses aren’t even considered to be alive. They need hosts to reproduce. I’m inclined to think we can exterminate them without many ethical or moral repercussions,” Anteros continued.

“Yeah, but that’s too small of a statistically significant sample. We still don’t know enough about them. We must ensure we are taking this on with a clear mind and not from wrath or revenge.”

Anteros looked at him suspiciously. The way he shook with anger did not seem to match the words he was saying. “Hey, you said ‘we’. Are you going to be my partner in crime again?” he laughed.

Endy punched the nearest wall. “Are you kidding? After what they did to our Papas and to Ven’tar and her people and to all of worlds they exterminated? All that stuff about about ethics... I know what is the right thing to do. But it’s just so hard to not desire vengeance after what they did.”

“What are you plotting?” said a comically singsong voice behind them, startling them out of their determined focus. 

“Ugh, do you have to sneak up on us like that?” Endy asked.

Eos laughed at both them and at Zarkon now taking on both Lotors, sparring with random branches they had found on the ground. Their mother and three sisters had put their glasses back on and were sitting in the grass and giggling together.

“Hey, Eo, we need to talk to you, actually,” Anteros replied with a serious expression. “Have you ever tried to use your powers?”

“Um, what powers?”

Anteros nodded over to their mother. “Your Altean alchemy powers, duh.”

“But I’ve never been to Oriande.”

“Yes, you have. I know Maman and Papa haven’t told you because what I think is, is that it has something to do with the way Maman defeated Honerva. Maman is human and there is no way she could have done anything to the witch. I think she gained access to Oriande while she was pregnant with you and Esmé.”

“How the heck do you know all of that?”

“I’ve been doing some researching into their past. Dayak kept records of how Honerva was defeated in this reality. And from what I’ve been able to piece together, Maman was the one who took her down in my Papa’s reality. Anyway, I think you and sis are the key to taking down the rift creatures.”

“Wait, what?! You want us to hunt them? Like together? As a family?!”

“Yes.”

“Wait, Maman said she had some memories erased. And that she couldn’t recall how she helped win the war. She chose to let that knowledge die with her so may be we shouldn’t let her sacrifice be in vain.”

“I think Maman has anticipated this day,” he said quietly. “In fact, they’re waiting for us to ask them. Instead of putting us in hockey or soccer or all of the regular sports, they chose Aikido, Galran and Altean combat. You know how Maman is a hockey fanatic. Yet none of us play. And although we’ve been free to pursue our own careers, we have certain fields in common. All of us are pilots. All of us are veterans. All of us know military history inside and out. Ethics and philosophy were obligatory fields of study.”

“Taro, you think they were grooming us for another war?”

“Maybe I wouldn’t put it that way,” Endy said. “As Maman always said, ‘fortune favours the prepared, bitches.’”

Eos laughed. “That she did. Hey, change of pace here. What do you think? It doesn’t seem like Maman to ask someone else to house her consciousness. She was always so selfless and that seems like she’s really imposing on her alternate self. Do you think she actually asked Guinevere to do that?”

“If anything, she probably asked Guinevere to take her place, knowing she would die. But it was Guinevere who insisted that her consciousness be transferred so we wouldn’t lose her entirely.”

“They really are pretty much the same person, aren’t they?” Endy mused aloud. 

“Yeah,” the other two say in unison. 

“Okay, another unrelated note,” Eos said to the laughter of her brothers. They were quite familiar with her flurry of tangential thoughts. “Do you think Ven’tar knew how Papa felt? He said he never had a chance to tell her. I’m going to guess that she knew long before that day, because even though Papa has difficulty speaking of his emotions, most of us are aware of them anyway.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure she knew. He’s been beating himself up for way too long, hasn’t he?” Endy said sadly. “It’s just so horrible what he had to endure. Both our Papas are the strongest people I know. Do you think they even want to fight anymore? Haven’t they been fighting for literally millennia? Maybe they could use a break.”

Anteros narrowed his eyes. “Okay, Endy, that’s a good point. What if we go travelling with them? Let them enjoy themselves. There is nothing preventing us from researching the rift creatures, training ourselves, and learning from other people at the same time. Maybe we’ll come across some useful information about the creatures as we explore the universe. And when we are ready, we hunt those parasitic squishfucks down.”

“So, Galápagos Islands are still a go?”

“Yeah! They could all use a vacation, I think.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do we finally get to find out how the white lion was tamed? Stay tuned for another episode of “rift hunters!”
> 
> Mayhaps. But, there will actually be many parallels between this and the concurrent fic with Ven’tar in the afterlife. I guess we’ll once again, have a rotating schedule because I’m crazy like that. (It’s not attached to this series because I haven’t decided yet whether to make it truly canon or quixotic canon).


	3. Vivacious Vacation

After Zarkon had returned to his own reality, the Beaumont family made preparations for their upcoming vacation. The kids had taken care of every detail, so their parents were left wanting for nothing. After arriving at their private villas, they were greeted by the soothing salinity of a lazy sea breeze, the loll of the somnolent mangrove trees, and the ebb and flow of gentle ocean waves. 

The happiness that permeated their beings was profound. The Lotors finally had time to take stock of the week of whirlwind surprises and emotional cyclones, and now were able to settle into the tantalizing prospect of travelling together with the most precious people in their lives. They were both lost in thought, relaxing in the warm jacuzzi and gazing distantly into the idyllic horizon when they were suddenly interrupted. 

“So, ok, Papa and Papa,” Avélie grinned, “you must tell us the exact moment you fell in love with maman.”

Endymion groaned. “Not this again. But they already told us a few days ago.”

“No, they didn’t! They told us how they met her. That is different!”

“Ugh, fine,” he groanedagain. “How did you fall in love with maman?” he asked in mock imitation.

Lotor laughed out loud at Endymion’s exasperation and thought back to his toddler days. He had changed quite a bit from the impossibly shy and uncertain child to the confident, forthright, and sometimes snarky young man he was now. The one thing that never changed, however, was his honesty. He caught a glimpse of Endy’s subtle smile. Even though he tried to pretend he wasn’t interested, he knew his son wanted to know too. Lotor stroked his chin and leaned back before he backhanded his counterpart on the shoulder and asked if he wanted to start. Again, in front of all the kids, Flotor had Nevé in his lap with his hand snaked under her bikini bottom and Lotor wasn’t going to let him get away with it. 

“Hmm? What was the question?” he asked as he quickly withdrew his hand.

Lotor rubbed his brow. The nerve of that son of a potato fucksack. And again, it didn’t seem like kids had noticed. He was a goddamn lucky bastard child. Lotor grabbed her away from him and kept her in his own lap this time. Though, may be he had to concede it was incredibly difficult to keep his hands off of her. He really wanted to undo her bikini as he rubbed her back and played with the clasp.

“Papa, you are always in la la land,” laughed Anaïs. “The question was, when did you fall in love with Maman.”

“I am not certain I should disclose this information. Your father might have me exiled back to the fringes of the universe,” he said jokingly. “To be truthful, I am not entirely certain. After I had been rescued, I was slated to return to my reality after my ships were repaired, so I had attempted to suppress my feelings for her. I was attracted to her when we first met, for she exhibited such extraordinary kindness and understanding that even Wolf was taken by her. I quickly pushed those sentiments aside, however, for I still held that blasted sense of Altean superiority at the time. That first month I spent in this reality, was truly the happiest I had been in my life until that point. Your mother made me laugh more than anyone ever has. I am still profoundly grateful I was permitted to stay.”

Endy sighed. “Maybe I don’t regret hearing about it after all. I’m so glad you found people who cared about you. Though, it’s sad that she was the first to treat you with a minimal amount of decency and respect, christ on a chalkboard. I like our family the way it is. It would have been missing a big piece if you had gone back.”

“You didn’t need our permission to stay, love,” Nymuë laughed. “You were always welcome.”

“Well, I did actually. I could not reasonably encroach on your relationship without his approval.”

“I seem to recall you did that anyway,” Lotor chuckled with mock consternation.

“I had not planned to. I knew it was wrong of me but I could not stop myself after she kissed me. And that, my children, is how Eos and Esmé came about.”

“Ugh, no, gross, I didn’t want to hear about that!” cried Esmé. The rest of the kids gagged and splashed water at him. Flotor laughed and splashed them in return. 

“What was the funniest thing that happened to you during that month then?” Anteros asked with a wide grin.

“It is difficult to choose one instance. Your mother as a bard in Monsters and Mana.. oh her impromptu vicious mockery was quite funny,” he sighed. “But I had not encountered practical jokes prior to that point. Pelting each other with spur-of-the-moment candy bombs was probably the comical highlight of my time there. Once again, courtesy of your mother. Those, however, paled in comparison to the celebrity jeopardy skits our friends put on for us. I had never laughed so hard in my life. If humans had a super power, it would probably be comedy,” he chuckled softly to himself. 

“I’m so glad Papa, you deserve all the happiness in the world,” Eos said affectionately. 

“How about you, Papa?” Anaïs turned to Lotor. “Was it as early as ALT-Papa?”

“Sooner, in fact. Though I did require several days to even admit to myself that I loved her from the moment she slung my arm with her sweater.”

Avélie, who had always been very sensitive, sniffed back some tears. “That’s just so sweet. So, maman, you haven’t told us before either.”

She giggled as Lotor replied, “To be honest, I am not certain you ever told me.”

“I’ve told you my story as Nevé, but as Nymuë, it was long before I met your father.”

“How can that be? We first met in the holding cell...”

She turned to him and kissed the corner of his mouth as she had always done. “I watched you outwit, outfly, and outmanoeuvre the paladins during our first encounter with you. I fell in love with you then. Can you imagine? You made my heart flutter by the way you so expertly used every stratagem of war I knew. I didn’t want to be your enemy. I wanted to be your lover.”

Lotor didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t often she could render him speechless. “That is not what you told me! I specifically remember, that time in the.. uh, closet, that you said you fell in love when we first met!”

The kids gasped and gagged at his closet admission. 

Nymuë shrugged. “Technicality. I tried to keep a distance. But you were more charming in person than I could have imagined. It was a lost cause. I was head over heels from the moment I saw you. I was so nervous, I was shaking when I was treating you.”

Lotor chuckled and kissed her shoulder. “I do remember that. I merely thought you were frightened of me. You reminded me of Nueh who shook in fear as she first offered me a cup of water. But we are not yet finished. You need to tell us about this son of a bitch here.”

“I resent that,” Flotor said with a flat tone, to the laughter of the kids. 

Nymuë bit her lip. “I thought I could do it. Keep a platonic relationship with him, in the beginning, that is. But my resolve collapsed as soon as I saw him. He was loved before he even woke up.”

Anaïs sighed. “I love my family. You guys are so cute.”

“I am not cute,” Flotor insisted to snickers and giggles. “Former Galra emperors are not cute. Victory or death,” he said lamely.

“Ok, Papa, whatever you say,” Anaïs replied sweetly. 

“Hey, you guys wanna check out the beach with me?” Anteros said suddenly without turning around. He had been listening to their cheerful banter as he watched the waves roll in and out on the horizon. “We have to check into the second villa anyway.”

“Oh, you booked another villa?” Flotor asked. “I was under the impression we were only renting one.”

“Come on, that was before Maman would be resurrected from the dead.”

“But the villa is very spacious. Surely it can accommodate one more person.”

“Papa,” Eos replied flatly. “All of us have walked in on you and maman more times than we care to count. Only you though. Other Papa was always more prudent.”

Lotor backhanded Flotor again. “Ow, what? I was unaware of that.”

“Exactly,” Lotor replied to the laughter of everyone.


	4. Noblesse Oblige

“Alright, Taro Root, what’s going on?” Avélie asked as they dragged their luggage into the second villa. “You are the opposite of relaxed. Something is really wrong because we are on vacation, and we have maman back now, and you should be the happiest of all of us because you were the closest to her!”

She glimpsed a small smile from him. “Says who?”

“Uh, the whole multiverse? Anyway, Eo is in on it too, isn’t she? I saw the three of you plotting something over at the hangar that day.” 

“I was going to tell all of you right now, anyway. We’ll let our parents enjoy themselves while they are here but we will start preparations for our mission to hunt down the rift creatures and destroy them. You heard all of the devastation they have caused across the universe. It is our moral obligation to ensure that never happens again.”

“Oh, ok, is that all? I was wondering when you were going to let us know,” she laughed in reply.

“Avé, you’re too easy going, sometimes,” Anteros said. “You should have seen Endy tie himself into an ethical pretzel when I talked to him.”

“Hey! We are supposed to consider the moral implications of our actions, you doofus.”

“I don’t think anyone has used the word ‘doofus’ in literally two centuries. I know what you’re going for, but it doesn’t quite have the same impact as Maman’s ‘scurrilous scrotelick’,” Anteros laughed. 

“So, you are okay with hunting down the rift creatures?” asked Eos.

“Check this out!” Avélie said excitedly as she camouflaged herself. 

“Hey, I thought we couldn’t do that,” Esmé exclaimed. “Maman always told us that you had to be fully Altean to shapeshift. Even Papa can’t do that. What the heck!”

“I can’t change my shape. But since Anaïs and I went to Oriande, we can amplify our powers enough to at least change our colour.”

“When the heck did you go to Oriande?” 

“Oh, the other day? Veritas offered to take us.”

Everyone laughed at this admission. “She offered to take you? Of course she did.” Esmé sighed. “I love those two. So they are in on this rift hunting expedition too?”

“They totally are. They hated how much our Papas suffered as a result. It’s entirely possible they are more broken hearted than we are,” Anaïs said with a sympathetic smile. “The entire trip there, she spoke of how good Papa is, and how he loves his children, and how he cares for the people of the universe. She also went on a good deal about Blitz and how she wouldn’t have gotten it if our other Papa wasn’t such a good man. We also spent thirty minutes arguing about who loved who more. Oh gosh, she’s adorable.”

“There’s something else you guys should know before we start,” Avélie said gravely. “It’s the first time I’ve heard it but she also told us what happened in the rift with both our Papas. In our reality, the paladins saved him because they were all friends. In the other reality, the paladins betrayed him, attacked him in the rift, and left him for dead.”

All of the children gasped. Anteros stood suddenly with rage. “What did you say? How did they manage to do that? Papa could have kicked their asses five times over with Viris.” 

“The woman he loved said he was just like his father. She broke him; he had a complete mental breakdown and they were able to overpower him. Veritas said that she used her Oriande powers, the ones he helped her obtain, to try to kill him.”

“They tried to assassinate the Emperor of the Galra empire?” Endymion seethed. “That’s a declaration of war on the Galra empire. It’s a violation of the Geneva Conventions. It’s a violation of Altean law. That’s literally the worst possible war crime with a maximum sentence of life with no chance of parole. The god honest fuck?”

“She tried to kill him with her life giving powers?” shrieked Eos. “That makes me so angry that I want to march over there and take them away from her.”

“I can’t believe she said he was like Zarkon. That is the cruelest thing possible.” Anteros said. “Especially after all the pain he went through. That woman is utterly despicable and I’m glad he never ended up with her. Who is she?”

“Princess Allura,” Avélie said with her head in her hands.

“The fuck did you say? I didn’t know he used to love her? Wait, did Papa from here love her too?”

“I don’t think so,” Avélie replied slyly. “Remember? Papa said he fell in love with Maman the day he met her. You were not listening, were you? You were thinking of the rift creatures.”

“So you weren’t being a sappy romantic?!” Endymion asked incredulously. “You were trying to work out the timeline to see if Allura had the chance to hurt our Papa here?! Why doesn’t anyone in this family say what they mean?!”

“Exactly,” Avélie laughed. “Because she said the same thing to him here. She said he was just like his father. But maman protected him with her love. Unfortunately, even if we saw her again, we wouldn’t be able to take those powers away. We don’t have that capability.”

Anteros thought furiously for a moment and put together the final pieces. “Yes we do. I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do yet, because I’m furious right now. But Eos and Esmé can take it away from her.”

“Say what now?” the twins exclaimed in unison. “Why us and not Avé and Anie?”

“Remember what I told you the other day? Maman figured out something at Oriande. There is a third option that I haven’t solved yet but she did something differently than Papa and Allura did at Oriande and it gave her the power to defeat Honerva. I think she somehow purified her of the dark entity and destroyed her powers. That capability still resides in both of you.”

“So what’s the plan, Taro?” Eos asked tentatively.

“We need to research the rift creatures and all of you need to hone your Altean powers. We need to know what you’re capable of. The good news is, any information on Oriande that was destroyed in our realities can be readily accessed now! Grandpapa just needs to shoot it over via the transceivers.”

“I have such amazing brothers,” sighed Esmé.

“Additionally,” Endy said, “our parents could use some travelling and vacation time before we plunge ourselves into the greatest danger we’ve ever faced. We need to take the utmost precaution not to get ourselves killed. They were completely devastated at maman’s passing. It would destroy them to lose us too.”

“Yeah,” Anaïs lamented. “Papa still tucks my hair behind my ear like I’m a kid.”

“He still ruffles mine,” laughed Endy. 

As the conversation took a lighthearted turn and the children reminisced on their childhood, their parents were having a casual one of their own. 

As Nevé bathed after their soak in the hot tub, Flotor snatched away a poem Lotor was working on, as he sat on the terrace of their villa, enjoying the lull of the ocean waves and salty sea air. 

“Lemme see that.”

“You know, there is such a thing as asking,” Lotor chuckled. His counterpart often pretended to be jealous these days as a bit of self-mockery over their early rivalry. 

“Embouchure?! Is that something about mouths? Why does earth English have all sorts of vestigial appendages I am grossly unfamiliar with. Why are you using such anachronisms?”

“Nymuë has a penchant for the usage of archaic words in poetry. Did you not know?”

“What? Have you been keeping secrets from me for over a century? You are a son of a motherless goat. When did she tell you that?”

“When I proposed to her,” he replied with a knowing smile. He had always reserved his best writing for Nymuë’s eyes only. 

Flotor wasn’t even listening anymore. He threw open the door to the bathroom scaring Nevé half to death, causing her to scream and drop her towel. He took her in his arms, still sopping wet, and said forcefully, “Wherefore art thou mine fairest bridewell?”

Nevé furrowed her eyebrows in perplexity and then giggled, “Did you just scare the shit out of me to ask me why I am your fairest prison reform school?”

Lotor couldn’t stop laughing. “Quite the Casanova, aren’t you?”

He kissed her tenderly and mumbles, “Yes, I am a new house, aren’t I?”

Nevé couldn’t even kiss him anymore, she was giggling so much. “You’re not even close.”

Flotor gave his usual devilish smile. “Oh, but you were when I had you in my lap.”

She gasped and tried to smack him but he catches her arms and thrusts them above her head. “You don’t know that!”

“Actually,” Lotor said offhandedly as he went to resume his writing, “even I could tell you were close.”

“Hey! Since when did...” she couldn’t finish before she was interrupted by a passionate kiss. He picked her up and brings her into bed with him. “You are a little more contrarian than you used to be.”

“No, I’m not.”

“See, what I mean? Perhaps you are in need of a bit of taming?” He restrained her arms above her and laid on top of her.

“You are horrible,” she said as she attempted to wriggle free. “And you are too heavy. And we have dinner in thirty minutes.”

“That never stopped me before,” he whispered. “I like to finish what I’ve started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taro roots are a bit purple, just like Anteros, and it’s such a cute nickname I can’t get over it.


	5. Kindness and Generosity

Nevé and both Lotors emerged from their villa and joined their children for dinner half an hour late. Lotor’s restraint was completely undone this time, despite his best efforts, watching his wife on her hands and knees, crying his name. One of the things he hadn’t anticipated by welcoming his alternate self into the fold was how hot it would be watching the two of them have sex; he was often unravelled seeing the arousal on her face as she was being taken by Flotor. There was little holding him back this time. They were on vacation after all. Admittedly, the two of them did fairly well watching her slip on her breezy, backless dress afterwards, but their progress was once again ruined by Lotor when he was irresistibly drawn by her upswept hair and leaned in to kiss the nape of her neck. He couldn’t help sweeping away the strap of her dress to trace kisses over her shoulder, eventually slipping his hand beneath her braless bodice. The sweet seduction of her soft murmurs overtook him, and within a few moments, her dress fell to the floor again. He pushed her up against the wall and took her harder this time, shaking the wall and nearby ornamental plants. Needless to say, his counterpart, who always had less self-control than he did to begin with, wanted her again as well. Nevé had never been one to be late, but she was happy to make an exception for them. The two of them ceaselessly craved physical affection. 

As the children watched their exceptionally affectionate and flirtatious parents approaching, Endymion and Anteros begrudgingly slapped their sisters with a virtual money exchange, to some stifled giggles. 

“Told you they’d be late,” Avélie snickered.

“My apologies for our tardiness,” Flotor began but the kids waved his inevitably unconvincing excuse away.

“Papa, don’t apologize. Don’t even worry about it. You’re on vacay now, there are no deadlines!” Eos said kindly. “We’re just glad we can be here with you...” she paused before becoming a bit emotional. “I think it just hit me like a ton of bricks that Maman is actually here with us. Like, we came to watch the baby turtles and cry our eyes out but now we can watch them and be happy... because...she is here again...” She shook her head and exhaled the surreal exuberance.

Lotor looked at her with great tenderness and stepped toward her to embrace her. As he rested his chin on her head, he replied softly, “I have never been more grateful for having all of you in my life than I am now.” The patio they sat at overlooked the ocean, and he gazed distantly at the ocean waves. 

“One might say things are going swimmingly,” Flotor grinned.

“Uggghhh, you and your dad jokes,” groaned Esmé.

“Don’t be so shellshocked, it’s not as if he just started today,” Anteros chimed in. 

“Uggghhhh, you are more like Papa than I thought possible!”

“Well, they tortoise all they know over the years,” Endy persisted. 

Esmé picked up her seat cushion and whacked both of them on the shoulder to the laughter of most of the family. Lotor noticed a flicker of recognition flash across Flotor’s expression, followed by a moment of contemplative silence. He himself, had been spared that particular heartache, and in that moment tried to imagine Nymuë saying those same words to him. To even consider it actually wounded more deeply than he expected. Before he could say anything, however, Anaïs asked sympathetically, “Papa, are you alright?” 

“I am quite alright,” he started with a smile and then paused, feeling foolish for allowing something that happened over a century ago to even cross his mind, let alone cut his heart.

Nevé stood up to cast her arms around him in that moment, seeing the embarrassment in his expression. As she softly planted kisses on his face, she said quietly, “It doesn’t matter how long it’s been, my love. As George RR Martin wrote, ‘Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word.’ However, when that does happen, we’ll be here to soothe the pain, and bandage your wounds. I am a healer after all,” she giggled at the end, before giving him one more kiss on the corner of his mouth. 

Esmé suddenly remembered what Avélie had told her earlier in the afternoon and clasped her hands to her mouth in horror. “I am so sorry, Papa! Oh, I shouldn’t have said it like that! I’m sorry I reminded you of that awful, sanctimonious, cold-hearted wench.”

Flotor chuckled and asked, “How on earth did you hear about her? I purposefully kept that part of my past hidden from all of you to spare you an unnecessary burden.”

“Veritas told us because Viris told her.”

He laughed again. “Oh, did she now?” He nodded with amusement. “That poor child was also quite stung by her betrayal if I recall. In any case, you need not worry about it. We did eventually make our amends after they returned to earth.”

“Well, I guess you’ve had some time to get over her,” grumbled Esmé, “But I just found out this afternoon and I’m still mad at her. I can’t believe she tried to kill you with her life-giving powers and left you to die!”

“It was a tragic turn of events, yes, however, it is was made infinitely more bearable to know that had they not done what they did, I never would have met your mother. Not even in my own reality.” He turned to his wife to look at her tenderly and stroke her cheek. “I would not trade this life for anything this universe has to offer.” She nuzzled her face into his hand. They had been so intimate moments before arriving and she still felt very close to him, as he did to her.

“You’re too easy on her though, Papa! She broke Altean law by doing what she did! Like, did she even realize that? I can’t even deal with that amount of incompetence and disregard for life. She contravened everything Alteans stand for.”

“I cannot speak to what she may or may not have realized, however, if I have learned anything from my time in this reality, it is that the seeds of anger, should they take root, will insidiously strangle the hope and happiness within.”

“Okay, Papa, I get that. I love you and I’m just glad you’ve had a chance to mostly heal from that!”

Flotor paused to appreciate her affection. No matter how many times his children told him they loved him, he cherished it each time. “We have mentioned it before, but your mother and the paladins went out of their way to assist me in dealing with the heartache.”

The young Moroccan waiter returned at that moment with their drinks and their orders. It was incredibly nerve-wracking for the him to serve the royal family, as they comprised for him, a bisexual hell: all of the princesses were some of the most beautiful women he had ever seen while, the princes were as breathtakingly handsome as their fathers. To top it all off, they were modest, polite, and considerate, unlike many of the social elites he often served. They even insisted on a first name basis to ease his obvious discomfort and engaged in some small talk prior to the arrival of their parents. “P-please call me Aryn,” he nervously replied. He visibly relaxed when they discovered he was from Morocco and spoke with him in French. The younger twins were enthralled by the fact he was finishing his doctorate in marine biology but had to take on a second job to pay the bills. 

After he had left, Flotor continued to speak of his friendships with Shiro, Adam, Lance, and Keith and fondly recalled how they took every opportunity to make him laugh. Adam in particular, housed a hidden arsenal of jokes that he often fired off without warning. 

“When you were still very young, and in fact, before Avé and Ani were even born, we took a trip to Hawaii with all of them. When I remarked that the name of the Hawaiian islands is a synecdoche, they somehow turned that into an endless stream of mockery for years to come. I recall Adam was the first to say, ‘synedouchey?’”

Lotor laughed. “It was all downhill from there. From that point on, they took every opportunity to pronounce it incorrectly.”

“And when I first arrived, they went out of their way to welcome me as one of their own. Shiro and Lance, in particular, took great strides to be an emotional anchor for me and to this day, I can say unequivocally they were the closest friends I have ever had.”

“How did it go so badly in your reality, Papa? Why were they willing to kill you under the same circumstances? Was the only thing different really Maman?” 

“I believe it was,” Lotor replied. “She slyly set up an excuse to have tea parties and introduced each paladin to me individually to earn their trust and friendship. And it was our newly cemented friendships that ultimately prevented my demise.”

“Lance had mentioned to me that one of the most influential things she ever said to him was that kindness, friendship, and hospitality would change the course of history by promoting peace. Once he learned of the drastic differences that occurred between our realities, he stated he truly became a new person and that is why he actively sought to become my friend,” Flotor reminisced fondly. “I do not blame the paladins in my reality necessarily. They were still children engaged in a war they could not fully comprehend, lacking the leadership they so desperately needed in such extraordinary circumstances.”

“Hmph,” Avélie grunted, crossing her arms. “Leadership that Princess Allura failed miserably to provide.” 

The Lotors laughed. “Perhaps,” Flotor sighed. “In hindsight, she was still quite young herself, though I did not know her age exactly.”

“You dated her and you didn’t know how old she was?!” exclaimed Avélie. “Okay, Papa, I always thought you had your head in the clouds when it came to love, but that? That takes the cake.”

“It never came up,” he pouted.

“That’s why you ask, you big oaf,” she chastised in return.

“I readily admit my conversations with her were not nearly as philosophical, poetic, or contemplative as those of your father and Nymuë.”

“Uh, Papa, I hate to break it to you but age isn’t really a philosophical debate. Okay, okay, so what did you guys talk about then? Literature? You like that.”

“No...”

“Did you tell your dad jokes?” Eos interjected.

“No...”

“What about your interests or her interests?” Esmé offered.

“No, we merely discussed...” he paused and tried to think of anything other than discussion surrounding their fathers. “We spoke of our common ancestry, of our fathers, and occasionally of my plans.”

“That is THE most unromantic thing I have ever heard of,” Anaïs replied with a frown. “Maman, what did you ever see in this boring old fossil anyway?”

Nevé shrugged and held him tighter. “I dunno. It’s why I called him an infinite cactus or spiny fuckfish from time to time,” she said affectionately as she stroked his head. They all burst out laughing at this one. Endymion found the imagery from ‘infinite cactus’ exceptionally funny and choked on his drink.

“I resent the implication that fossils are boring,” he replied dryly to more laughter. “I, for one, happen to thoroughly enjoy dinosaurs. In any case, when I first met your mother, and she called your father... oh what was it? Polyplacophoric fuckpod! He said it was a term of endearment and it was so absurd a concept that I was certain I was still in the quintessence field hallucinating my final moments.” He laughed and drew her into his lap to kiss her shoulder. 

Lotor looked to Anteros who had not said a word since their arrival and who frequently was gazing into the distance in pensive thought. In fact, he recalled that he had not much to say earlier in the afternoon and wondered what had him so distracted. 

“Taro, you appear to be preoccupied. Is everything alright?” he asked.

Anteros was startled out of his thoughts but smiled warmly at Lotor and nodded. “Don’t worry about me, Papa, I’m totally fine!”

“So when are you planning on hunting down the rift creatures?” Nevé asked casually. 

Anteros groaned. “Maman! How did you know that? We weren’t going to tell you yet! Which one of you leaked it to her?”

“Taro,” Nevé replied. “I’m your mother. I always know what you guys are up to. And it helps that I often speak with Viris and Veritas,” she giggled. 

“But I didn’t want to ruin our vacation!” he protested.

“Not to worry, son,” Lotor replied. “We knew this day would come. We may discuss it now or later, but we knew that our plans would be accelerated once you learned of the truth behind the corruption of my parents. I am certain Endymion has voiced his ethical concerns by now,” he said with a sly grin. “However, you need not be concerned as we have been researching the captured test subjects for decades. We will gladly share all we have subsequently discovered!”

“So, does this mean we will form an expedition to hunt them down?” Anteros asked tentatively. It was almost too good to be true. But he should have known his parents would be several steps ahead of them. 

“If indeed you are prepared to relinquish time spent vacationing as Nevé first proposed.”

“Aw, hell yes!” came a chorus of excited replies.

After the family had spent the rest of the evening fervently discussing their newfound endeavours, they happily retired to their respective villas with determination and resolve. When Aryn came to clear their table, he dissolved into tears when he saw they had left him a sufficient tip to pay off the entirety of his student loans as well as assist his struggling family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whisper* that was a very long writer’s block I had but it’s getting better!


	6. A Turn for the Worst

Romelle and her son were preparing to join the rest of their family on vacation a few days after the Beaumonts departed, and she had been excessively attentive to him after this past week of whirlwind revelations. She had kept a massive secret from everyone and the revival of his aunt Nymuë had been a explosive revelation. She happily watched him carry on about his cousins as she reminisced on their lives together. 

The dark-haired Keiran had stunning, sharp features, just like his father, while had he inherited his mother’s beautiful violet eyes and exceptional strength. He had always been good with his hands, blessed with an excess of curiosity and dexterity, much like Romelle’s brother had been. Rather than pursue medicine like his parents did, he opted for aerospace engineering. She had wholeheartedly supported his every endeavour, and had showered him with love and attention his whole life. Romelle and Trajan had had difficulty conceiving, and as a result, Kieran was their only child. Sometimes, he would have to hide at Endy’s house just to escape from her affections. 

As they were packing the last of their bags to leave, an urgent message from Flotor’s reality caught them off guard. The inter-reality transceivers did not frequently sound, let alone alarm. Merla, now the prime minister of the Martian Altean colony, had an exceptionally grave message for them, having been unable to reach any one of her usual contacts. Queen Allura had taken in a dark entity. 

“Wait, you mean to tell me she willingly took in a dark entity? Of all of the quizfacking things to do, why in the name of the ancients would she do that?” Romelle shrieked. “Where did she even get one from?”

Kieran took everything in stride. While his mother had always been one to wear her emotions on her sleeve, he took after his father who remained measured and steady in crisis situations. Whereas the Altean colony in his reality eventually became a democratic republic, the best compromise that was agreed upon in the other reality was a constitutional monarchy. Coran and Allura had been unwilling to relinquish the royal heritage and insisted upon its continuation. Kieran, in fact, was not overly surprised to learn of this new development, for it had not been even twenty four hours when his cousin and best friend, Endy, had sent a transmission detailing the events of the quintessence field battle. His shock at the paladins’ failed attempt at assassinating his uncle left him nauseous with rage. The paladins were such good friends with his family here, that it was inconceivable they had plotted to kill his uncle in the other reality. 

“First of all,” Keiran started as he laid a hand on his mother’s shoulder, “How could she possibly find one to begin with?”

“We have since discovered another reality where events were exceptionally more tragic than in either of our realities. The Voltron coalition here, by order of Queen Allura, has ordered expeditions to hunt down the rift creatures as retribution for the devastation they have caused. This was done because in that reality, both Lotor and Allura died. I regret to say no one was able to save Lotor, and Honerva tore apart the universe in bloodthirsty vengeance. Trillions of people died.”

“Wait, what?!” both of them gasped. “But aunt Nymuë left anemone polyps in the field. Why didn’t they signal us?!”

“The events of that alternate timeline seem to have happened before they did in our realities, and before either of our Lotors ever breached the veil. The Allura of that reality took in a dark entity in a bid to increase her power to defeat Honerva.”

“WHAT?!” cried Romelle. “Of all the hardheaded, stupid things...”

“From what I understand of these creatures, they need quintessence to survive in a new host, in exchange for power. Allura had such a different and tantalizing energy, however, one they had never tasted before. They are now targeting and seducing the Alluras of every reality, whenever a breach in the quintessence field is detected. You must inform Lotor immediately. Your dual Sincline Robeasts form the greatest weaponry any reality has ever seen.”

Keiran narrowed his eyes. “That doesn’t explain why she took in the dark entity, though. There was no threat she was desperately facing. Why would she be so reckless with the power she holds?! If she becomes corrupted, she has enough power to become the next Honerva!”

“From what I have observed, Queen Allura has never fully been able to relinquish her desire for vengeance. The peace treaty with the Galra would have been much more punitive if the intergalactic peace council hadn’t vetoed her demands. I believe she saw this as an opportunity to act for the greater good, as she puts it. However, I believe it is much too risky a method of combating such powerful and unknown enemies.”

“Thank you for alerting us, Merla. We will arrive in your reality as soon as possible. Lotor and his family are on vacation right now, so we just need a bit of time to retrieve them!” Romelle says in a panic.

“My deepest thanks. Farewell,” Merla said as she signed off. 

Keiran was already calling the family on an emergent line, one Lotor had expressly reserved for the direst of circumstances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Flotor is not canon Lotor afterall! This is news to me as well. 
> 
> Canon Lotor is currently with Ven’tar in the afterlife; the concurrent ventor series is apparently both canon and quixotic canon.
> 
> Nevertheless, rest assured, that in all realities and in all existence, justice will not be denied.


	7. Family Secrets

As the family headed down to the beach that night to see the first of the baby turtles emerge from their sandy refuges, they sat on nearby logs to await their arrival.

“It’s amazing how they just know their way to the ocean as soon as their born,” marvelled Avélie. “Don’t need any help from their parents. Just follow the light of the moon.”

“You know,” Lotor said tenderly to his kids, “Galra children walk sooner than their human counterparts. However, because your babyhood passed so quickly, it was not something I regretted in the least.”

Nevé laughed. “Both of your fathers loved holding all of you as babies. They probably lost record amounts of hair from all the tiny little hands tearing out handfuls of it. I still to this day don’t understand why they refused to cut it.”

“Do you know how long it takes me to grow out my hair?” Lotor asked. “It does not replenish its length in mere months like yours does.”

“Don’t you have all the time in the world?” Nevé laughed. “You haven’t aged a day since I met you. It’s extraordinary.”

“Maman does have a point,” Eos said with a big smile.

“I did not want to admit how much I enjoyed seeing the chubby little fists clutching onto my hair for dear life,” Flotor sighed fondly. “The pudgy, white-knuckled fists are among some of my favourite memories of your babyhood. I have maintained to this day, albeit privately, that too few human men have long enough hair to enjoy that aspect of parenthood.”

“Aw, Papa, I didn’t know that,” Eos replied. “You’re so tender-hearted I don’t know how you ever lived through such atrocities without losing your sanity.”

“If you recall, I have previously lost my sanity, and at a critical moment, no less. Both of us, for that matter,” he replied as he gestured to his alternate self.

“Well, you know what I mean, Papa. Like, there wasn’t some sort of culmination or climactic evil awakening. It was 100% high level intensity evil all the time, from finding out about your people and Altea, to losing your friends and Ven’tar in such a devastating way. Ugh, I shudder to think about that kind of unimaginable cruelty every time.”

“I am forever grateful it is not something any of you must experience. We have expended every effort to prevent such an occurrence from happening again. Did you know Ven’tar’s people, the Entaians, are distantly related to Alteans?”

“What? They are?!” several children exclaimed in unison. 

“Though I, myself, did not know it at the time and neither did they. It was your mother who figured it out as she poured over ancient teachings of their world. I am still amazed to this day, that she was able to make the connection.”

“Father,” Anteros said suddenly, “tell me again what happened at Oriande the first time. Why did you fail the test?”

Flotor laughed. “Would it surprise you to know that I charged at the white lion, yelling ‘Victory or death’ and sliced it in half? Apparently, it was not amused and sent me back outside the temple.”

“And then Maman helped you pass the test when you arrived here.”

“Correct.”

“Incorrect,” Nevé interjected, “he figured it out on his own.”

As Flotor and Nevé continued to argue over the nuances of who helped whom, the baby turtles began to emerge from their sandy burrows under the light of the moon. As the enthralled family happily watched the hatchlings struggle valiantly and plod furiously toward the beckoning ocean waves, Anteros silently solved the puzzle of how his mother knew there was a way to tame the white lion. The answer was written somewhere in the ancient teachings of not the Alteans, but the Entaians.


	8. Ma Minette

Thoughts of babbling babies and pudgy little hands caught Lotor by surprise. His heart was at ease, surrounded by loved ones and buoyed in a sea of bliss, but he was not prepared for the firestorm of emotions he would feel that evening. As Lotor watched Nevé laugh and converse, and felt his gaze drawn past the curve of her neck to her ample breasts, he felt a scorching heat rise in his chest and sweep his being. He had just had rough sex with her, and yet he could not quell the burning need for her again. As the rest of the family was enthralled by the baby turtles emerging under the gentle moonlight, he pulled her into his lap. Tracing his lower lip along the nape of her neck caused her to tense against him and, dragging his lips over her most sensitive spot, she melted into him. Her every weakness was compiled into a deck of cards he knew inside and out, and every hand he played that night would trump all her defences. He slowly licked her ear and ran his hand down her cheek, her throat, and along her collarbone. He didn’t need to feel her breathing quicken to know her face was flushed and her nipples were hard. Lotor held her fast against him as he deftly crept his other hand under her dress to caress her breast.

“Lotor,” she whispered, “you’re... going to miss... the baby turtles...”

“You underestimate me, kitten,” he murmured in reply as he nipped her earlobe and slid his other hand between her legs. He had barely dealt the first hand and she had already lost the first round.

Flotor was the only one who noticed the way he hungrily lingered on her scent and watched her with ravenous desire under the soft shimmer of the moon, and was amused to think he himself probably looked like that most of the time. It was a perfect paradise here, and he fully intended on taking advantage of it. He was impressed, actually. Lotor was never usually this daring in front of the children. He sighed. Two more babies would be just right, perhaps a boy and a girl. He wanted to kiss and snuggle the fuzzy, curly haired heads once more. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t wait to take her back to their villa. He too, was an exceptionally observant lover, who knew her cards so well, he didn’t even have to look at them to play them right. He leaned over in that moment, lightly brushed the back of his hand down her back, and purred in her other ear, “He likes the way you smell, but I like the way you taste.” If Lotor hadn’t immediately stopped stroking her, she would have climaxed around his fingers. 

As soon as they said good night to their children and parted ways, she faltered and stumbled a bit, and Lotor caught her. He had edged her close to climax several times but always stopped short before she came. Nuzzling his nose into her hair, he said softly into her ear, “Did I make you a little weak in the knees?” His tone was so seductive and she, already awash with euphoria, lost her footing again. With a devious smile, he picked her up from her waist, and threw her over his shoulder. She sharply inhaled, suddenly airborn, as he was so tall and so easily lifted her up. 

“Aaf. L-Lotor, I can walk! Il ne faut pas (you don’t need to)... ahh,” she sighed as he slid his fingers under her thong and continued a gentle frottage.

“Mais... que fais-tu... maintenant? (What are you doing now?)” she managed between breaths. “Et si on... on nous voit?! (What if someone sees us?)” She was mortified he was doing this in public, but the heat between her legs would force her hand.

“That is quite likely the least of your concerns,” he replied steadily as he stroked her harder, eliciting muffled shrieks. “You will need to be very wet when we take you tonight.”

“Non,” she protested as she struggled against him, “Que tu... est méchant! Nous avons déjà... fait l’amou... (you’re so mean. We already made lov...)

“Shhh,” Flotor said tenderly as he brushed her cheek, and traced his hand down her neck, followed with a sudden jerk, ripping the strap of her dress. Nevé was aghast he had exposed her while they were in public, but he quickly muffled her gasps with one hand, as he used his other to fondle her roughly. “You will not be so feisty tomorrow, once we have thoroughly claimed you,” he bent down to whisper in her ear.

She surprised him by nipping his finger, as Nymuë had never bitten him before. 

“C’était pas necessaire, ça!” she cried as she struggled against Lotor’s grasp. (That was unnecessary!)

“Did you just bite me?” he asked with amusement.

“C’est ce que tu mérite pour déchirer ma robe!” (That’s what you get for ripping my dress!)

He smirked as he tore off her other strap. 

“Ah! Inutile! (pointless!)” she cried though her protests were drowned by ecstasy as he took both breasts in his hands at the same time Lotor plunged his fingers into her and brought his thumb down to massage her soft bud. 

“Can I help it if your attire is so... insubstantial? It makes me want to tear it off,” he whispered fiercely as he gently but firmly applied greater pressure to her nipples. She mewled and whimpered so much, he could see why Lotor had only ever called her his kitten. 

As her breathing became ragged and Lotor felt her clench around his fingers, they both stopped, to her disappointment, pausing to navigate the pebbly path to their villa and open the door. “She is undoubtedly as untamed as ever,” Lotor sighed. “Perhaps we can remedy that tonight.” 

Lotor lost no time in stripping off their clothing and pulling her onto himself as he laid down in bed. Forcing her to straddle her legs, he stopped for a moment to admire slender body.

As he ran his hand over her thigh he said, “It is a shame you never taught us more of human anatomy.”

Nevé was confused, and simply shook her head with furrowed brows; their physiology was more or less the same with minor physical differences. As she tried in vain to understand what he was referring to, she was taken by surprise from behind as Flotor suddenly grabbed her waist tightly to himself and brought his hand between her legs. She sighed to feel his hard arousal pushing against her.

“We had to learn on our own, that your pleasure organ, is quite complex and intricate,” he said seductively as he brought his hand between her legs to trace the areas he was referring to, “branching out and encircling your... cyprian fountain.” Plunging two fingers into her, he was once again impressed with the cards Lotor dealt. His hand was completely wet.

His touch was intoxicating and sent waves of pleasure coursing through her. Nevé was also so enraptured by his velvety voice and charming eloquence, she turned her head to lean against his chest and stare at him open-mouthed and wide-eyed. Cyprian fountain was an expression from the nineteenth century. How did he...? Flotor smiled lasciviously and withdrew his hand to suck her wetness from his fingers. She gasped. He had just played his trump card and in that moment, she afforded Lotor a chance to take her by the hips and penetrate her. Any residual resistance folded its hand and they knew she was theirs for the taking. 

“Ah, t’es toujours trop grand,” (you’re still too big) she exclaimed. 

He pulled her forward, and she willingly lay on his chest as it was how he usually comforted her to allow her to adjust to their difference in size. With his arms suddenly around her, tightly locking her in place against him, however, she felt a second vaginal penetration from behind her and cried her distress and surprise. She was so small and so tight, he groaned with desire and arousal as he slowly entered her. 

“Ahh, vous... non... faut pas me prendre... comme ça! (You... no, can’t take me like that!)” She had never felt such intense pleasure and her protests stemmed more from shock than truly from refusal. 

“Shhh, ma minette (my little kitten), it was devious of you to keep this secret from us for so long.” Lotor lifted her upper body up and pulled her hips down as they both pressed into her. 

“Mais quel secret?!” (But what secret?) she gasped before she felt another massive thrust. The mountain of pressure overwhelmed her and she felt a dizzying shot of pleasure rush through her body. 

“No need to play coy,” he smiled, licking his lips. “A little extra pressure is all we needed to keep you continuously coming.” Nevé felt faint and trembled at this revelation. She was so small and slender that Lotor could feel the bulge from their hard erections in her lower abdomen as he ran his hand across her skin. He took her hand and made her feel it as well, before looking her in the eye and savouring the realization and bit of trepidation in her face. “We want you pregnant again,” was all he said before they took her with vigour.

“Ah, t’es vilain! (You’re so bad)” was all she could say. She wanted to bring up their impending battle but her words, her reasoning, and her logic were suddenly inert and inconsequential as she was swept by an electrifying ecstasy. They were so strong, they easily lifted her up and slammed her down; the shockwaves were so powerful she was immediately overcome by an intense orgasm. She cried breathlessly as they took her harder and was seized by a second climax. 

“Say it, kitten. Tell us what you want.” She couldn’t even tell who had asked her as she was about to come again.

“J-j’ai envie... ah...de vous.” (I want both of you)

“And what else do you want?” he asked forcefully.

“Ah, b-baisez-moi... ah... quand vous voulez...” (fuck me whenever you want)

She felt Flotor reach down and rub her clit while they both hammered her. 

“Lotor!” she shrieked as they rocked her with the fiercest convulsive orgasm she had ever experienced. Neither of them had experienced such pleasure before either, as she continually spasmed hard around them, and they quickly came to climax as well. 

She collapsed breathlessly on top of Lotor and continued to tremble and have full body spasms for a little while. He held her tenderly and kissed her head. Flotor lay down beside them and stroked her back for a long time. 

“Je vous aime à la folie,” she whispered. (I am madly in love with both of you)

After they had returned from cleaning up, Nevé was so tired she climbed back into bed and promptly fell asleep. The Lotors each returned to either side of her and lay quietly beside her. Flotor stroked her long hair and said suddenly, “Ma minette is quite cute. I want it. You already have kitten.”

“But it means the same thing.”

“No, it means my little female kitten. You can have chaton.”

“There is no rule stating we must have different pet names. I do not like chaton.”

“Yes, there is. I cannot call her the same thing you do.”

“There are many other baby animals from which to choose.”

“Kitten suits her the best.”

“Well, I do not know what you want me to do.”

“Give me the name.”

“No, it is not even mine to begin with. You call her flower. Why not use fleur, then?”

“I like kitten better.”

“Then call her that if you want.”

“But you already do.” 

“If we had had this conversation one hundred and twenty five years ago, I would have sent you back to your own reality.”

The both laughed and settled into a deep and contented sleep that night.


	9. Clair de Lune

Flotor briefly awoke later that night to a still-warm and humid breeze drifting into their bedroom and the distant chirping of crickets. Nevé had snuggled herself into the crook of his arm and was sleeping with her arm draped over his chest. As he turned to nuzzle her head and take in the dewy scent of jasmine she always wore, he exhaled a sigh of contentedness and grasped her slender hand. He thought upon the efflorescent serenity he felt the first time he woke up with her in his arms. His entire life with her had been a springtime of happiness; she possessed a florescentia of patience that far surpassed her years and she very rarely lost her temper or entered into arguments. Instead, every verbal blossom that tumbled out of her mouth soothed his wounds, restored his brokenness, and taught him the beauty of love. He had been wrong. He lifted his head to watch her sleep and soaked in the softness and warmth of her naked body pressed against his. ‘Flower’ did suit her after all, for one so rare and beautiful. He had to swallow the lump forming in his throat to think that everything she had ever done was for himself, for Lotor, and for their children. 

He leaned over to kiss her lips, using all his willpower not to wake her, and settled back into bed, holding her a little tighter to himself. She stirred briefly to hear him whisper, “Je t’aime, ma belle rose du printemps.” (I love you, my beautiful rose of springtime) before she drifted back to sleep.

She was still sleeping on his shoulder when her husbands roused from slumber. The morning light spilled lazily into their bedroom, diffuse and muted by the translucent ivory panel curtains swaying in the breeze. They were greeted by the sweet serenade of songbirds and a cheery floral fragrance lingering in the air. Feeling refreshed and luxuriously relaxed, Lotor kissed her head a few times before he got up and quietly remarked that he hadn’t seen her sleep so deeply since her arrival. 

“I suppose I shall remain here until she wakes,” came the whispered reply. “I am loath to wake her by moving away.”

“Perhaps I can meet the children for breakfast and bring some back for the two of you,” Lotor answered. “They are probably eager to learn more of the rift creatures as well.”

“Right. I shall be right here... uh, attending to important matters.”

Lotor raised an eyebrow and frowned. “I’ve never heard that one before,” he said flatly.

“What? Someone should stay behind to protect this delicate flower.”

“You are back to calling her flower now, are you? Well, this ‘delicate flower’ single-handedly dismantled Sendak’s entire rebellion, defeated the most powerful witch in the universe while pregnant with twins, and then birthed our six children.”

“Well, not this exact one. Perhaps she is more fragile than Nymuë was?”

“You say that again, and I shall punch you myself.”

“We already lost her once. I just don’t want anything to happen to her.”

Lotor sighed. That was an understandable sentiment but in this case, he knew he just want to make love to her. “Alright, you ‘protect her’ from the imminent danger of any Darwin’s finches, baby turtles, and random insects that may breach our heavily fortified defenses,” Lotor said before he went to the washroom. “Though I suspect you are the greatest threat she currently faces,” he casually called from within.

Flotor chuckled and glanced at the time. Nine hours of sleep. She had shifted and now lay with her back to him so he brushed away her hair and kissed her neck and shoulder. He watched her sleep for a moment, the rhythmic motion of her breathing, the occasional sleep whimper, and the twitching of her relaxed hand. There was a striking contrast between his own heavily scarred flesh and her smooth, unmarred skin, and he wanted it to remain that way. He traced his hand along her chest where she used to bear the scar from clone Shiro’s sword. He knew she wasn’t fragile. But he loved her as though she was as transient and fleeting as the annual summer flowers. She and his children were more precious to him than anything else in the universe. An unintended consequence of keeping her reincarnation secret was that she had inadvertently taught him how to truly cherish her impermanent existence. Everything he had ever done ended in failure more often than not, frozen in an eternal winter of bitterness and cold, until he met her. Then together with her, mishaps and misfires simply melted away, as their partnership ushered in a summertime of peace and prosperity. 

Her silken sable tresses and baby-soft curves were as luscious and alluring as ever. She was so vulnerable lying before him, dormant and docile, his intention to let her sleep was lost in a sea of desire. As his hand wandered over her chest, he tenderly kissed her face and neck. She sighed when he caressed her soft breasts, which only lead to more fervent kisses as he began to rock his hips against her. Restraint buckled under a deluge of passion and, tumescent with arousal, he slid into her wet entrance. 

Nevé was eventually startled awake, with a first gasp of air and a heart-pounding rush, as he gripped her tightly, one hand clutching her breast, the other leveraging her hips into him. Feeling the heat of his breath against her head, and a wall of muscle flush against her, each pounding thrust drove an exhilarating flash of pleasure through her. He was pleased to hear her immediate moans and sighs. 

“You like this, don’t you, flower?” he panted in her ear. She merely nodded and whimpered her acquiescence. He took her harder and faster, and causing her to cry out, the bed began to shake and thump against the wall. Nevé felt the deafening rush of blood through her ears, as her heart thundered in her chest. He was so strong, it was too much for her. She trembled and arched her back. He licked his hand reached down between her legs. “Tell me who you belong to,” he whispered fiercely as he stroked her.

She cried desperately before she was even able to summon any words. “À-à toi,” (to you) was all she could muster. 

As he watched her toes curl and felt her tighten around his pounding erection, he replied, “Then you’ll do as I say. Come for me, Nevé.”

Her eyes flew open as she was seized by a paroxysm of pleasure. It was a nirvanic high for him as she spasmed hard around him. He was flushed with heat when she breathlessly said, “Prends-moi dans tous les sens.” (Take me any way you want). Bringing her into a lotus position and grasping her under her arms, he continued to thrust deeply into her. Feeling him so far inside her plunged her into a rebound euphoria. He was already at his limit but hearing her lusty cries and seeing the arousal on her face took him over the edge. Clutching her tightly, he groaned her name as a fiery surge of ecstasy pulsated through him. He held her breathlessly for several moments as he came into her. 

After a long time, she said shyly, “Lotor, d’habitude, je n’écris que les poèmes de mélancolie mais je veux que tu saches que celui-ci est pour toi.” (Lotor, I don’t usually write anything but sad poems but I want you to know this one is for you.)

“Lotus de tristesse,  
Ravi du clair de lune,  
Corolle se déploie.”

(Lotus of sadness  
Enchanted by the moonlight  
Unfurls her petals)

He was still inside her as he pulled her close to him. She was so sweet and so sexy it was hard to believe she was his at all. He buried his face into her neck, traced kisses along her shoulder and face and relished the sensation of being so close to her. 

“Did you just come up with that now?”

She nodded into his shoulder and kissed his neck. 

“You cannot know the elation I feel having you here with me now, my little lotus,” he said with great tenderness. He breathed in her scent and sighed. Everything was so perfect, he didn’t want this moment to end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ‘Corolle’ translates to corolla but it doesn’t seem to have the same meaning. A corolle is the entire circle of petals a flower has.
> 
> Back in Afternoon Tea, Nymuë had called Lotor her sun. Flotor is now her moon.


	10. Tantric Kiss

It was late at night and Lotor found himself back at central command. As the sound of his footsteps echoed in the empty corridors, he heard a distressed meowing in the distance. Was that Kova? He urgently tracked the source of the sound and found small black kitten trapped in an impossibly narrow space.

“Worry not, little one, I shall assist you immediately!” he exclaimed. She had wedged herself between a window and a heavy crate that he pushed aside to free her.

His small furry charge purred her gratitude in his arms and he was immediately taken by her unabashed affection. He scratched her under her chin and said, “I hope you are not injured in any way. I do not believe there is anyone here who could help us if you were.” He felt her paws and legs and was relieved to see she didn’t exhibit any signs of distress or pain.

He hurriedly took her back to his minimally furnished room and sat on his stiff bed. A flurry of thoughts passed through his head. Few would take kindly to her presence. Where did she even come from? 

He dangled a piece of string in front of her and laughed at her rising to pounce at this newfangled threat. She was such a winsome, spritely little creature, he couldn’t resist stroking her downy-soft fur and cuddling her in his arms. “I am the emperor and I promise no harm shall come to you. You belong to me now and I shall protect you,” he said as he tied a ribbon around her neck. As he shed his suit and lay down in bed to contemplate this unforeseen turn of events, he whispered, “You may be as black as midnight, but your heart is pure. I wonder what I should name you?” She nuzzled her head into his cheek, and licked his face a few times. For the first time in a long time, there was a bit of bliss amid the bleakness of the empire as her melodic purr lulled him into a peaceful sleep.

He opened his eyes to a little bundle snuggled on his chest under his blanket, and smiled to remember he had a new friend. As he peeled back his covers, however, instead of a ball of black fur, lay a shock of black hair, and he gasped his bewilderment. She rubbed her eyes groggily and blinked a few times at him before she snuggled into the crook of his arm and curled her arm across his chest. His heart raced as he tried to take stock of the situation; she wore the same ribbon he had tied around her neck, but in place of a kitten was a voluptuous woman now pressing her naked body against his. Wide-eyed in astonishment, his gaze fell over her body, and lingered on her curves, before hastily averting his eyes. What in the name of ancients was going on? Her cheeks were flushed and she rubbed against him with such raw passion, his heart nearly stopped. Was she in heat?! Sensing his confusion, she brushed her lips over his before she slowly licked his mouth to comfort him. Surely this was some sort of illicit exchange, but he was paralyzed by a cloud of... intrigue. Gently stroking her side and grazing her breast, she softly mewed as her eager lips met his. Lotor was entranced by the taste of her, as sweet as Entaian midsummer fruit, and entirely enticing. A little nibble and he cursed silently to himself as all his blood rushed down south. His little kitten seemed to know exactly what he liked. 

He sharply inhaled as she plunged her tongue into his mouth, and hungrily lapped his wetness. His heart quickened and his breathing quavered with her insistent mouth locked with his, as he drew this sweet seduction deeper into his own. Lured by temptation, he was suddenly entangled and netted by a ravenous need. As she was about to pull away, he firmly cradled her head in his hand to bring her back for more. This time, he greedily thrust his tongue into her mouth and drank deeply, savouring every drop of nectar, tasting every dewy surface. So tantalizing and tantric was their kiss, the world fell away, and he was lost in this nymphic gossamer dream. With one last sip, his eyes fluttered open to admire her. Cupping his hand over her fairy-soft breast, he was pleased to see her open-mouthed mewling as he ran his thumb over her nipple. Desperate with arousal, she returned to lick his neck and draw her hot, wet tongue over his bare chest. He normally would have started asking questions by now, but his head was hazy with lust. Lotor moaned as she straddled him and pressed her supple body against his, unable to stop himself from tracing his hands down below her waist. The heavy heat coursing through his body settled and coiled itself in his hard erection that now pushed against her wet folds. 

She stopped. Lifting her head with startlement, she turned to investigate the interruption. 

“I believe that is your doing,” he said with an impish smile as he rolled her onto her back and pushed her down. “You will have to take some responsibility for it.” He kissed her passionately once more as he forced apart her legs with his own. 

At the height of his torrid arousal, Lotor awoke just as he was about to enter her. He lay there breathlessly for a few moments to remember where he even was. “What the fuck,” was all he muttered to himself. Looking over to see Nevé asleep beside him, he exhaled his sexual tension. How he had forgotten he was married to the kitten in his dream was beyond him. Apparently he was still on vacation and had had mind-blowing sex the night before. Lotor blinked in disbelief, and lay immobilized for several more moments, completely stunned.

After the brief exchange with his alternate self, he headed to the washroom, continuing to swear in his head, not knowing what to think. He had been plagued by nightmares for the vast majority of his life, and could not remember the last time he had a dream like this. He didn’t want to admit how incredibly turned on he was; he never imagined he could nearly climax from a single kiss. Was this what normal people dreamt of normally on a normal night? He ran his hand through his hair and tremulously exhaled. Before long, unfortunately, the rigorous pounding of the bed frame and loud moans of his wife reached his ears. Lotor ran his hand down his face. He was going to need a very cold shower now. 

As Nevé was being cuddled, she noticed there was no water vapour coming from the washroom despite the sound of the shower running. It didn’t take her long to reason Lotor was taking a cold shower for her sake because they had been quite rough with her the day before. Flotor seemed to notice as well. 

“If he had the same dream I did, as often happens, that might explain why he is taking a cold shower right now.”

“Really, what did you dream of, love?”

“Let us just say, our subconscious brains took ‘ma minette’ quite literally.”

“Oh,” Nevé replied sympathetically. “I’m glad you are not ‘aving nightmares for once, ‘owever, I am not sure what you mean by that.”

“I love it when you talk like that,” he smiled as he tied a ribbon around her neck and fed her a few lychee fruits from their complementary fruit basket.

“Like what?” she asked with her mouth full, “And why are you doing that?” She looked at him suspiciously.

“Say however again.”

“No.”

“Say having.”

“No!” she pouted before she gave him a little shove. 

He chuckled before pausing to admire her and tenderly kiss her cheek before he lead her to the washroom. 

“Increase water temperature to forty degrees Celsius over thirty seconds,” Flotor called to the smart monitor as he pushed her in and turned to go to the downstairs bathroom. 

Nevé clasped her hand to her mouth in amusement. Never in her lifetime as Nymuë did Lotor ever have an erotic dream. He only ever had terrible nightmares. Oh, that sweet summer child. He probably didn’t even know what to do with himself. In any case, she wasn’t about to lose to some fantasy version of herself.

Their luxury suite boasted an open concept waterfall shower in the centre of a generous washroom bursting with exotic plants. Lotor had his back to her as he jolted with the temperature rise. “Alright, I know which one of you is responsible for this and it is not amusing,” he called. Just as he was about to address the AI to decrease the temperature, he turned to see her emerge from the steamy shower mist, sultry and sensual. She was radiant under the morning skylight.

He cleared his throat to be able to find his voice. “Did you sleep wel...”

Nevé wordlessly swept him down into a luscious kiss. With a light brush of the lips and a little lick, she teased him with her lepidopteran touch. Alighting on his lips once more, a feathery flick across his hard palate and a flighty sweep of her tongue left him drunk for more. He gathered her tightly in his arms as the warm water fell over them and he relished the lingering sweetness in her mouth. Her kiss suddenly metamorphosed into a kaleidoscope of pleasure, as her tongue swirled seductively around his. She drew him deeper into her mouth. His heart fluttered. Wrapping her lips around his tongue, she sucked impatiently. A fleeting high flocked to all his senses. She moaned sensually. He became unravelled, thinking of all the things she could do with her tongue. Tracing circles on its underside while sucking, she alternated with deep, probing motions into his mouth. Darting in and out with precision and passion, he crumbled at this new promethean display of pleasure. Now it was his turn to surrender.

The touch of her fingertips running lightly up his inner thighs sent shivers through him. She dropped to her knees and took his throbbing erection in her mouth. Having to lean against the central shower column, hand splayed, and brow knitted, he faltered from the surges of torrential ecstasy with every expert sweep of her tongue.

“Fuck, I like... that,” he breathed.

With a sensual hum, she took him faster in her mouth as she ran her hands along his thighs and up to slowly massage his ass cheeks. He threaded his fingers through her wet hair and pulled her closer, thrusting deeply into her throat. As her tears mingled with the water running down her cheeks, she kneaded his back entrance and plunged two fingers into him. 

“Oh fuck, that’s good,” he hissed through clenched teeth. 

Lotor panted in earnest as she took him harder and faster and gently rubbed his prostate gland. Nevé deftly targeted his second weakness, taking his shaft in her hand and stroking the frenulum at the base. It was a merciless trifecta of thunderous pleasure she sent coursing through him, stealing his last few breaths and corralling him into a hedonic high. He gripped her head tightly as he found a hot release into her mouth, unable to suppress a breathy groan. 

He opened his eyes to see her swallow every drop of his seed with a mischievous grin. Just as his gaze was about to wander from the ribbon around her neck to the rest of her ravishing body, she slung his neck down, exhaled her hot breath into his ear and whispered, “Meow.”

Lotor got a little weak in the knees again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lepidoptera is the scientific name for butterflies and moths. There didn’t seem to be an elegant word for butterfly-like so I used lepidopteran. No idea if it’s an actual word.
> 
> Promethea silk moths are polyandrous. While promethean in the sense of daring ingenuity and creativity works in this context, it is also a reference to those moths. 
> 
> Kaleidoscope here refers to a group of butterflies.


	11. Cocksure and Corrupt

Enveloped by the salty sea air and gentle breeze as they stepped outside that morning, the warmth of the rising sun over the ocean waves was peaceful and placid. The children headed over to their parents’ villa, playfully jostling one another or throwing verbal jabs. Their catered breakfast was already awaiting their arrival on the poolside patio and they happily settled into a delectable meal.

“Should we wait for them?” Avélie mused. “Maybe...”

“Uh, no way. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve had encebollado?” Anteros interjected. “It’s just not the same anywhere else.”

“You and Endy are the only ones who like it. I can’t do savoury pickled onion fish soups first thing in the morning,” she laughed.

“Well, them and our Papas. I still can’t believe there isn’t anything they won’t eat,” Eos continued.

“Listen,” Endy retorted as he pointed randomly at all of them, “if I’m visiting the Galapafuckingos islands, you better believe I’m having seafood three meals a day, seven days a week. You can’t get better seafood than this.”

“Mmm, nope. It’s amazing in Hawaii too, Tuxedo Mask.”

“Yeah, yeah, but I’m still having my soup. And ugghhh,” he rasped with exaggerated verbal fry, “that joke is super old. I mean, Papa never watched Sailor Moon. How was he supposed know?”

As his sisters giggled at his overly serious reply, their parents emerged from the sliding doors behind them. Lotor stretched and yawned before he lovingly greeted them all with hugs and kisses. 

“Glad to see you well rested, Papa,” beamed Anaïs. It was such a stark contrast from the withdrawal and depression she had witnessed not too long ago. “Did you sleep well?”

“Better than I have in a long time, thank you,” he smiled as he sat down. The wind picked up then, and blew her strawberry curls into her face. Lotor laughed and smoothed out her hair. Tucking the last strand back in place behind her ear, he said affectionately, “Regardless of the age, it is always the same at the seaside.” 

Endy smiled with a mouthful of soup. “Papa, you still do that no matter how old we get.”

“Yeah, despite all the terrible hardships you both endured, you’ve been the most amazing Papas we could have asked for,” she sighed.

Lotor chuckled. “You have been saying that since you could speak. Admittedly, it was limited to ‘best Papa ever’ because I do not believe you knew there were two of us at first, so rarely were we seen together.”

“I don’t have many toddler memories but one of the few I recall was the shock of seeing two Papas,” she reminisced fondly.

“I would not categorize myself that way, necessarily,” Flotor sighed. “We had a fairly difficult time adjusting to domestic life and parenthood, initially. There was also significant culture shock when we split our time living on earth and overseeing the Galra home world.”

Most of the children were surprised. Their parents rarely showed signs of anger or even disagreement and they had assumed everything was peachy. 

“Judging from the astonishment on your faces, you were not aware of our numerous struggles,” Lotor continued. “Tensions became severe during the first year of parenthood, and we were not entirely certain our marriage would last.”

“I had no idea,” Eos replied thoughtfully. “How so?”

“I was so grossly occupied overseeing both the Altean and Galra worlds that my relationship with your mother languished. And your father and I were so accustomed to maintaining secrecy that our communication suffered. Luckily, your mother was able to interpret some of our unspoken grievances.”

“Well, it was understandable in both of your cases,” Nevé replied. “Revealing emotion was always punished throughout your lives, and Dayak pounded the principles of war into you. You were always to conceal your intent. It just became much harder for me to be understanding because I was so exhausted and sleep-deprived. And although I did not suffer from post-partum depression per se, the lack of sleep made me irritable and borderline insane. Twins are an unbelievable amount of work and quite frankly, I honestly think the only reason we squeaked by was because there were three of us.”

“I suppose when the children begin to outnumber the parents, sacrifices are paramount,” laughed Lotor. “I believe your mother cried when we discovered we were about to have a second set of twins.”

“Wow, I never knew how hard it was on all of you,” Avélie said. “We’ve always kind of idealized all of you in our minds because you did seem perfect to us.”

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Flotor said. “And the three of us were well versed in the art of deception.”

“Speak for yourself,” Lotor quipped to some chuckles. “I, for one am still an expert liar.”

“You’re not a liar,” Nevé said as she slapped his shoulder. “I told you that a long time ago. You just were never encouraged to express yourself and be honest with your emotions. And that is why it was ideal to have the three of us. All I had to do was ask your other self why you were behaving like that and voilà, it was like having a Lotor guidebook.”

“Did you have to do that because one or the other Papa was away so frequently you didn’t have time to talk?”

Nevé nodded. “It’s not the same on our communicators and definitely not by voice messaging. That much at least I knew. Much can be lost in communication if you are not face-to-face.” She stood up and cradled Lotor’s head in her arms and kissed his head. “Even so, I must credit their resilience and perseverance. Your fathers are some of the most patient and tenacious people I know. I believe they would have been the ones to try to salvage a potentially broken relationship.”

“You know, I always wondered but I don’t know why I just never asked about culture shock,” Eos pondered. “I know it’s quite an adjustment for two people of different cultures to marry, even if they were raised in the same country. And I know when I studied for that year in France, there was necessarily a significant amount of acclimatization.”

“Yes, I was quite put off by the pervasive complacency at first,” Flotor said. “It was as though everyone took peace for granted, as though it had not hinged on the deaths of millions. All of the extravagances from toy stores to rich, indulgent foods was saccharin and distasteful.”

“The beds were too soft,” Lotor said simply.

“And the food too sweet,” Flotor added. 

“What do you mean?” Esmé asked. “But you love maman’s cupcakes. You love maple syrup!”

Nevé laughed. “I make special ones for him with less sugar. Your father had very little refined sugar in his lifetime previous to his exposure to our food. It became so habitual, I apologize I never thought to mention it. And speaking of communication again, it’s amazing how far your fathers have come. I lived a minute fraction of their lifetimes, and my habits of keeping things to myself, and never talking about how I felt were more deeply ingrained in me than they were in them.” 

“I’m really glad all of you were able to work through your struggles,” Esmé replied sympathetically. 

“So how much sugar do you subtract then?” Eos asked with sudden interest.

“I...” Nevé paused and then frowned. “I can’t remember what the ratio is right now. I’m having a bit of trouble recalling some events sometimes. My memories seem fractured, and I can remember them better if I have the right flow. I am so sorry to say I feel like my connection with Nymuë is growing weaker, actually. At first, I thought of myself as both her and I, but now, I am Nevé with Nymuë’s memories.”

Before they had much time to process this distressing news, Kieran and Romelle were calling urgently on their communicators. While the shellshocked family silently listened to this concerning turn of events, Allura and Merla were speaking in private chambers in the alternate reality.

“Did you relay the information, then?” Allura inquired in an unusually strident manner.

“Yes, my Queen. Lotor will be arriving shortly with a small contingent,” Merla responded with a brusque salute.

“Will that woman be arriving as well, then?”

“Yes, it will be as you planned.”

“Excellent. I am long past due to unlock all the secrets of the white lion and we shall be extracting that information from her by any means necessary.”

“Majesty, if I may be so bold, Lotor will not allow any harm to come to his wife.”

“Then perhaps it is time he finds a new wife. He loved me once, he can be compelled to do so again.”

“I am not certain I understand.”

“That is why you are not the queen. I have waited far too long for this moment. I’m taking back what she stole from me and what is rightfully mine. He craved power, lusted after it, once before. He will not refuse the most powerful woman in the universe.” Allura’s sultry swagger was not something Merla had witnessed before. She seemed intoxicated even though she had not taken to drink.

“What of the rift creatures and the quintessence field?”

“Once I have Lotor and his weaponry at my side, all will be powerless before us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay; the Ventor series is also heating up. I’ll alternate between the two, several chapters at a time.


	12. Final Fallacy

When the Project Mars had begun, progress had been exponentially accelerated with Altean terraforming technology engineered from Naxzela models. At the time, communication relayed between the two realities was constant, and Mars in both realities was settled simultaneously and efficiently due to the constant exchange of advances and setbacks. With their new world flourishing as the new Altean colony, Flotor had maintained regular inspections of their progress; he was eventually satisfied and confident in the leadership, and subsequently decreased his own involvement. Although Allura was permitted to retain her royal status, she was more of a figurehead, while true governance fell to the elected Prime Minister. The government in this reality differed from that of Lotor’s reality since Allura had been unwilling to relinquish her title. She had felt it would be a tremendous loss of tradition, what little remained of it, and she had insisted it fall to her to maintain Altean heritage and culture.

The Alteans who remained behind with her had been captivated by her beauty and kindness, the sole remnant of the old Altea who had survived Zarkon’s wrath. She was like a godsend. Though Lotor had been forthright about the second colony, he had declined to inform them of the battle with Voltron. He had hoped to give them a fresh start without any emotional baggage or bitterness. To this fraction of the colony, the choice had been simple: they would remain behind with the Altean princess from tales of old.

While the prime minister attended to governing duties, Queen Allura taught the people the ways of the Alteans, wrote educational and historical resources, and healed their ailments. However, the wounds of loss and suffering bled easily, exacerbated by the shrapnel of inadequacy and lacklustre progress in reclaiming the halcyon days of peace and prosperity. 

Having lost their expertise in numerous fields, the Altean colony relied heavily on scientists, engineers, architects, and trades people of other species. With the purity of New Altea diluted by foreign architecture, and assimilation of alien languages, the Queen grew restless. Pockets of poverty and malcontent arose as rivers of currency flowed from federal reserves into the pockets of foreign contractors and investors. Voltron was exceptionally expensive to maintain. Seeds of doubt sprouted and entangled her with regret. How she wished she had never left Lotor behind. He, of all people, held greater knowledge of their culture than anyone else. As the sands of time slipped through her fingers, her obsession with her former flame grew; he became the final solution, in her mind, to all of their problems. There had to be a way to bring him back to her.

Her lessons became increasingly imperialist: glorifying the old Altea, vilifying their persecutors, and fanaticizing her subjects with promises of rebirth. The growing dissatisfaction and perceived injustices gave rise to a fundamentalist political party favouring expansion of the Queen’s oversight. Altean lawmakers, having secured a landslide victory, successfully made incremental amendments to their laws. Backdoor, last minute bills that passed the senate floor would silence dissenters by insidiously restricting their communication channels. Scholars and scientists were effectively muzzled, if their messages were not first approved by the Queen. And so began the slow descent into an Altean autocracy. 

Little did Lotor’s family realize that Allura had taken in a dark entity years ago. Rumours had swirled about Haggar’s demise. A mere human had entered Oriande to defeat her? Preposterous. Taking over the team to recover the ancient mech warrior, Allura made a surprising discovery. Gaia, having been infected with a dark entity, and believed to be dead, had been marginally sustained by its extraordinary powers. Subsequently, the Queen had every memory from Gaia’s deteriorating body extracted using the Altean technology. Weeks of sifting through fragmented echoes of the past finally yielded a tantalizing result: Nymuë’s last verbal exchange with Haggar at the temple. Lip reading experts confirmed the inaudible. “I neither fought nor yielded to the white lion, bitch, I tamed it.” 

The last extraction would be the rift creature itself. That fateful decision would be the beginning of the end of Allura’s self-awareness. The nebulous being had been poked and prodded, and subjected to a relentless battery of tests, but it knew exactly who to entice. Allura was the most powerful host in its vicinity and it endlessly seduced her, appealing to her deepest desires. Finally, after years of declining political prowess, wealth, and status, she yielded to whispers of completion and power. It would be the quickest route to right social injustices and reclaim a golden age of Altean ascendancy.

Official reports stated the rift creature had been destroyed, to keep Flotor from interfering until he was needed. Ultimately, Allura sought to subjugate the white lion and to do so, would require Nymuë’s knowledge. Multiple invitations over the years had been sent to the alternate reality for grand balls and celebrations, but Flotor always came alone if he came at all. He became increasingly uncomfortable around Allura who was ageless in beauty, having used her life giving power to maintain perpetual youth. His visits had decreased over the years, inversely proportional to the advances and innuendos she made in his presence. 

 

After Kieran made his report, he signed off and agreed to arrive shortly in one of the Sincline ships to bring them home and make preparations.

“I cannot allow any of you to come with me,” Flotor insisted after they were briefed on the situation. “I will not endanger the lives of my children for my own failings.”

Anteros sighed. “Papa, you didn’t fail. You did your utmost throughout the years to protect your people and ensure a stable government. You are not responsible for the decisions and actions of others.”

“And Papa,” Avélie added, “don’t forget they left you for dead. It was Maman who saved you and gave you a better life here. The fact that you went back at all to help win the war was above and beyond your duty. You don’t owe them anything.”

“Why am I not surprised by this?” Endy asked. “I’m not saying that to make you feel badly, though. None of us could have foreseen this.”

“Something’s not right, though,” Anteros mused at the same time Nevé was formulating similar concerns. “This story seems fishy to me. It could be a trap.”

“Why do you say that?” Flotor asked. He had been so distraught, he hadn’t fully analyzed the details Keiran’s report. 

“This is the first time we have heard of an alternate reality with such devastating events. Why were we not informed sooner? Although you have not permitted me to accompany you on your trips there, I read all your reports. Something this big isn’t something you just sweep under the rug and mention casually the next time you meet someone for tea. And how did they find it? There are innumerable realities in existence. How did they know to pierce the veil into the coordinates of that one?”

“Papa, why do you not allow us to return with you anyway?” Avélie asked.

“It was your mother’s decision. In the event that anyone deduced the events at Oriande, you could not be taken hostage in exchange for...” Flotor stopped cold.

“You figured it out, haven’t you?” Anteros asked. “They want Maman.”


	13. Amaranthine Heart

Lotor paced the patio, gazing at the distant horizon. It was a lot to take in. He had been wary of events in the alternate reality, though he had not anticipated such a drastic turn of events.

“Nevé is not the only one she desires, son,” he said finally. 

“What do you mean?” a few children asked.

“Over the years, she has been making increasingly brazen advances toward your father. I had not foreseen such unscrupulous dealings, however; to somehow attempt to manipulate him into returning to her surprises me greatly.”

The air was pierced by the shrill and sardonic laughter of some of the girls. 

“Return to her?!” shrieked Avélie as she clutched her coral curls. “The unadulterated gall of that woman. After she verbally and physically abused Papa, attacked him, and left him for dead?”

“Well, she did apologize for all of that many years ago. We have since put it behind us. Not that...”

“Words are meaningless, in this case,” fumed Anaïs. “She was the leader of the coalition, an Altean princess, and paladin of the blue lion. She represented peace and diplomacy. She had a moral obligation to use her power responsibly and she abused it. We can see now, she never learned how to be accountable for her actions.”

“And what good is an apology,” continued Eos, “if she never learned her lesson?”

“I guess we’ll just have to teach it to her, then,” grinned Endy. “Papa, I know you want to protect us. But hiding us away is what King Alfor did and it was wrong. He chose his own daughter over all of Altea, left it defenceless, and sent away the one thing that could have protected all those people. You have been training us our whole lives. We are stronger together. We’re ready.”

“After losing your mother once... I do not know if I can...” Flotor couldn’t finish his sentence. Endy stood and set his arm around his shoulders. 

“You’ll have to let us go one day,” he continued softly. “We’ll be alright, Papa.”

Lotor nodded sympathetically. His counterpart had always had more difficulty letting go. He about to open his mouth when Anteros interrupted him. “And don’t say ‘when I was your age,’ because we’re a bit more mature than you were at this age.”

“Pffffff,” a couple of his sisters laughed. 

“Well, I was about to say exactly that but I cannot refute your last assertion. Your mother taught all of you well.” With that said, reality finally caught up to his alternate self who sat in quiet contemplation. Their children had had many luxuries they themselves could have only dreamed of. And they surpassed their parents in unique and numerous ways. He knew this day was coming but he just hadn’t expected it to come so soon. It had been devastating to lose his wife. The thought of losing any of his children was excruciating. He wasn’t entirely certain he would have been able to choose differently had he been in Alfor’s shoes. 

“We should take a few days to map out our strategy,” Nevé started but Flotor cut her off.

“Perhaps, but you are not to come with us should we mount an assault. You are her target, though I do not understand how she could have possibly come across that information.”

“The likeliest explanation, then, is that reports were falsified to throw you off her trail. If that is so, it is possible she has been under the influence of a dark entity for much longer.” Nevé stopped there and declined to address her involvement while tensions were high. She met Anteros’ gaze at that moment and he knew what needed to be done. 

“This place is not secure,” their youngest said. “We’ll have to wait to discuss our strategy until we are on board our ships. Especially since universal translators are so ubiquitous these days.”

“Well, we have about twenty minutes before they arrive,” Avélie noted. “We should probably use this time to...”

“I’m so sorry, Nevé interjected with tears brimming in her eyes. “This is something I’ve regretted for a long time but I shouldn’t have been so arrogant as to combat Honerva myself. I slipped up while I was there with her. I was so angry that I revealed I had a secret. She was going to die anyway, so I relished that bit of confusion and turmoil that I caused her. So to make up for it, I had to do what I did. Let Nymuë die. Erase her memories. I’m sorry I had to put you through so much pain because of my mistakes.”

“You could have told us,” Lotor said softly as he took her in his arms. “We saw the whole exchange anyway.”

She pressed her lips into a thin line and shook her head. Throwing her hand up in exasperation, she exhaled deeply. “I’m not great at communicating my failures. I don’t even know anymore if keeping it secret is the right thing to do. Maybe I should trust the ones I love a bit more. I am slightly more emotional, it seems, than Nymuë is. I can’t keep these emotions in check like she always did.” Nevé had suffered from severe bouts of depression during her life, and lacked the confidence her alternate self carried. Alarmed that Nymuë was fading from her consciousness, she felt as though she could never measure up and would be a shoddy replacement if all that remained was she, herself, in the end. 

“No, maman, in our current state of affairs, you did the right thing. We’ll take it from here,” Anteros reassured her. 

The family met Kieran and Romelle on the pier in a bittersweet reunion; they had looked forward to vacationing with the rest of their family and enjoying Nymuë’s new lease on life. Lotor was the first to greet his nephew; the Lotors had always been close as secondary father figures to him, so when Trajan had passed, they had become a crucial source of support and comfort. He had piloted the Sincline ships to retrieve the family. Together, they would hash out a preliminary plan as Lotor’s ships were impervious to spying. The girls tried to alleviate the tension with jokes, but even their hearts were unconvinced of their humour. Nevé noticed with great apprehension that Nymuë was now inaccessible and it was, quite honestly the worst possible time. Avélie lamented that she didn’t have enough time to learn from Aryn, whose research analyzed how cephalopods controlled their chromatophores to camouflage themselves. It would have been helpful in training with her new powers. Anteros and Kieran took the lead with a brilliant strategy, capitalizing on the strengths of each family member they knew intimately, and soon boosted the morale of the troubled company. 

It would all be for naught, however, as their captors lay in wait for their return. Voltron had pierced the veil into their reality, having been entirely corrupted by its darkened heart, piloted by unquestioningly loyal soldiers of Allura’s own choosing. Just like Allura had chosen its very first human paladins, it was now completely subject to her whim as her twisted, amaranthine quintessence coursed through each lion. After forcing Voltron to move by her will alone on Naxzela, she learned to hone this ability into a blade of fury. Alfor had handed his daughter a veritable super-weapon on a silver platter. And their first target, would be the weakest link in the family: Romelle. 

Over the years, Veritas and Viris had had substantial upgrades to their weapons and guidance systems, hull integrity, and overall efficacy but still required quintessence as a fuel source. Lotor ran one of the last quintessence extraction operations in the universe. As it stood, their technological prowess was peerless, and this jealously guarded secret enticed Allura’s corrupted mind endlessly. It symbolized perfection and power to her, and she was held captive to the potential it held. Unknown to the Beaumont family, her target was not only Flotor and his Sincline vessel or his wife. She wanted what Nymuë had: both Lotors and both of their mechs, in addition to Oriande’s ultimate secret. She was cognizant of the challenges. They would not come willingly. This was inconsequential, however, for it was an easily surmountable obstacle. Her top secret project had been a soaring success. With Voltron’s aid, they had infiltrated the Altean empire reality, and acquired the hoktril technology. Rather than use the original obtrusive and bulky device, it had been streamlined into a small and subtle intracranial occipital implant, unseen and unknown to the rest of the world at large. In close proximity to the brainstem, the device could easily halt autonomic function and kill its victim. Anyone who resisted her, would ultimately bow or fall before her. Such had been the fate of Merla and many of her opposition. It was, quite honestly, less risky than multiplying dark entities and using them to control people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So amaranthine can mean either dark purply red or immortal and I loves it because both perfectly describe the corrupted quintessence. 
> 
> This chapter was mostly done a month ago, but then depression hit, and I drowned my sorrows in botw. Um, things are better now... I can kinda write again. Tired a lot though, so my pace will be different. Apologies to all of you but thanks for reading!


	14. Date with Destiny

The house was dark and quiet when the family returned home to gather some supplies and equipment. Quickly throwing on the lights and heading to a subterranean storage bunker, Lotor, Kieran, and Anteros went to retrieve and calibrate all of their flight suits and helmets, as the remainder of the family chatted nervously in the living room. When Kieran emerged in the doorway, he asked, “Hey, where’s Maman?”

“Oh, she went home to pick up a few things,” Eos replied. 

“How long has she been gone?”

“I don’t know, how long have you been downstairs?”

At that moment, Romelle returned with a small carrying case under her arm. As she stepped through the door, her son thought she appeared somewhat dazed, with her clothing and hair dishevelled. 

“Maman, are you alright? What happened?”

“Oh Kieran, I am alright. I just tripped over the corner of that damn rug,” she replied with a slight smile. 

“Uh, ok, are you sure? Did you hit your head or anything?”

“Son, I am a medical professional. Don’t worry about me.”

As Endymion lamented gaining a few pounds from all the seafood and the resulting tightness of his suit, and Avélie protested how that should be impossible given how little time they spent on vacation, Nevé paced around watching her family. Nymuë was gone, so she had to step up now. Magical Alteans had the ability to transfer consciousness, as Allura did with Shiro, and as Romelle ultimately did with Nymuë. It was a similar concept with the transfer of memories as she had learned with the creation of little Nymuë; while Alteans could directly transfer consciousness, the memory extraction tech method was akin to copying a file, and uploading it onto a hardrive. Shiro’s consciousness had remained intact for the duration of his life. Why then, had Nymuë been lost? It made no sense. As she was pondering this, her mind wandered to Honerva’s use of the rift creatures to exert control over non compliant subjects. Leaving the room to think quietly in the study, she continued her musing. From their extensive research over the years, and poring over Honerva’s meticulous research records, Lotor had determined his corrupted mother only had the capability to fully control a maximum of ten people at once. After all, a puppeteer can only fully devote their attention to a limited number of puppets. Honerva also required direct contact with her subjects to transfer the creature. However, alternate Allura had to have a larger army than ten to achieve what she was attempting to do. To erase research records, maintain the silence of every party involved, and fool even Flotor, required an enormous number of people under her absolute control. How was she doing this? If not the rift creatures, then what? She looked up into the hallway mirror and absentmindedly gazed at her own reflection. In frustration, she made a face. She was a fake, just like Allura. She blinked several times as a firestorm of thought swept through her mind. The memory extraction tech had paved the way for the hoktril implants in the Altean empire reality, in which the will of their subjects was pacified. Even so, it was one thing to subdue aggression. It was another thing entirely to control them. She stopped pacing. But Allura knew Alfor’s consciousness had been corrupted! If the Altean hoktril device was connected to a crystal much like the Galra one, it could be completely synced with the will of the empire on a large mainframe, overriding one’s existing consciousness with a more powerful, uploaded one. She gasped as she clasped her hands to her mouth. That must be how Allura was controlling her subjects, which meant that anyone could fall victim to her plot, and anyone could implant that device! Kieran and Anteros’ strategy was all wrong because it was contingent on avoiding contact with Allura. At that moment, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she heard the study door open behind her.

She watched Romelle saunter through without a word, laying her hand on her shoulder and smiling. As she was about to return her affections, her sister-in-law swept her elbow around her neck and locked the stupefied Nevé in a stranglehold. With her airway collapsed, and her strength sapped from that impossibly tight grip, the last thing she heard her say was, “You’ve figured it out, haven’t you? You were always too smart for your own good.” A sharp pain pierced the back of her head as Romelle injected a hoktril implant under her scalp and she crumpled to the floor.

Hearing something collapse within, Flotor headed to the study. As he entered, he saw his wife curled on the ground in a small pool of blood. As he felt the panic rise in his chest, and a hundred terrible thoughts fly through his mind, he rushed to her side, but she stood up gingerly and refused any assistance to his confusion. Having forgotten about Romelle’s presence, he was startled by her sudden interjection.

“Lotor, you are to come with us. Your presence is requested urgently by Queen Allura.”

“You have some nerve,” he retorted severely, as he shook with anger and fury, clenching his fists, “invading the privacy of my home and injuring my wife. You overestimate my patience. I will not hesitate to strike you down even though you resemble my own sister-in-law...” 

She cut him off. “Pity, you would kill Keiran’s own mother. Just like you killed Bandor. Queen Allura is gracious and forgiving, however, and willing to overlook your transgressions. And she would rather not bloody your beautiful snow white hair.”

“Do as she says, trash panda,” Nevé commanded without emotion. 

Flotor was completely blindsided by this development and the shock on his face was evident. They had gotten to her first when he had been exceptionally careful to prevent it. And they had Romelle too. He could not risk either of their lives. Allura was never going to get away with this, he vowed.

“Remain here, and do not utter a word” Romelle said as she went to fetch Lotor. 

He secretly hoped that Lotor would notice something was amiss and caution the rest of the family, but his disappointment was profound when Lotor showed up eagerly with a bounce in his step. Flotor ran his hand down his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scalp is very vascular and tends to bleed a lot when injured. Flotor’s thoughts probably anticipated a worst case scenario with that amount of blood.


	15. The Art of Deception

Flotor could only think of the children as he was being lead outside by his captors, but he suspected they were already formulating a new plan. After all, their intelligence and perceptive capabilities exceeded his own, and he was immensely proud of each of them. In hindsight, Romelle returning in disarray was unusual. Knowing as much as they did about the rift creatures, it should have been immediately clear to all the children that Allura was using an alternate method of manipulation, but how the Queen’s puppets had overpowered Romelle was extremely concerning. She must have fought valiantly. He glanced over in her direction as they walked briskly. On closer inspection, her hastily cleaned hair still retained some matted dried blood. There was some bruising visible beneath her clothing. And what they had done to Nevé was unforgivable. A fierce indignant rage rose within him but he channelled it, as he had done so many times during his abused lifetime. It was not the time for blinding anger. It was imperative to formulate a strategy against one of the greatest threats he had ever known. Allura possessed such potent raw magical capabilities that they surpassed those of even the corrupted Haggar. With the power of the dark entity and the life givers combined, he and his children were no match. At all costs, she must never attain the secret of the white lion. And the only way they could accomplish this was to outsmart her. 

As he watched Nevé shove Lotor roughly, saying “Move it, you mangy waschbären,” he was struck with sudden inspiration. Watching him from the corner of his eye, it seemed his alternate self had also come to a similar conclusion. There had been no need to alert the kids; Endymion had loudly complained about his weight, while a few hurled some insults his way, and distracted everyone as the oldest twins crept stealthily behind their parents. It was impressive how quickly the girls had learned to not only maximize their camouflage abilities, but expand their Altean mark capabilities to hide their heat signatures. Even the two Altean guards escorting them remained oblivious to their presence. Both fathers were fiercely proud, but this meant the survival of their daughters was dependent on evading Allura’s mind control.

When Romelle came to fetch Lotor for technical assistance, the remainder of the family was astute enough to recognize she was not herself. She never asked Lotor for such a thing because Kieran was her go-to for these small matters. During Endymion’s excessive lamentations, while the others harangued him to conceal their intent, Anteros snuck behind the study door to listen. He then signalled for his sisters to follow them. Like a well-oiled machine, as soon as they were certain of their parents departure, everyone headed for the secure area. 

“What are we going to do?” queried a distraught Avélie. “I know we had gone over this theoretical scenario but I never thought she could be so... so... despicable and evil, and attack us in our own home!” She trembled with fear and anger as her heart thundered in her chest and a maelstrom of thought hammered her brain.

Anteros took a deep breath. “The first thing we need to do is calm down and think. We can’t secure Veritas and Viris; if we do, we put their lives in danger as well as our own. We let them think they have the upper hand and infiltrate on a time and place of our choosing. Rushing in ill-equipped and unprepared could prove fatal.”

“What was that thud we heard earlier? Was that Maman?” Avélie continued.

“I... I think so,” Endy seethed. “I can’t believe those bastards took her just when we got her back too.”

“Hmm, no they didn’t,” smiled Anteros. “Did you hear her call Papa a trash panda?”

A moment of realization struck all of them except for Kieran.

“Wait, wait, wait, what does that have to do with anything? She always calls my uncles names,” he asked in confusion.

“A trash panda is a raccoon!” Anaïs said excitedly. “And the scientific name for raccoons is Procyon lotor. Yeah, you never took much biology you tech nerd. She was letting Papa know secretly she was still herself. How is Allura doing this, though? She’s controlling people without contacting them!”

“Wait, but wouldn’t they be able to figure that out?” Keiran said.

“I don’t know. But from what I’ve heard, Allura was never that interested in learning other cultures as Alteans supposedly were. I doubt she’d know the regional slang for a local earth animal. That was so smart of Maman. Ah, I love our family!”

“So how did she do it?” mused Anteros but even as the words were leaving his mouth his eyes grew wide with awe. “Guys, remember Nevé said Maman was fading. I don’t think that’s what it was. She was hiding! So whatever method took over Nevé’s consciousness must have been capable of overriding only one consciousness.” He shook his finger in excitement as he paced back and forth. “But Allura never expected two consciousnesses in one body. So Maman took over again, pretended to be mindless, but is actually calling all the shots.” He shook his head again. “She anticipated this over a century ago? That’s absolutely insane. No wonder she kept it all top secret.”

“How the ever-loving fuck does she do that? Holy mother... okay focus. What’s our next step. We know Allura can’t be using rift creatures. What is she using? Until we know what we’re up against, we can’t really make a move,” Kieran sighed. “Wait, Maman had some dried blood on the back of her head. I had wanted to ask her but she was so adamant. And I’m not a medical person so I did not want to persist.”

A pause ensued followed by a collective gasp. “Hoktrils!” came the simultaneous realizations.

“Ugh fucktacular. So the witch can control a whole fuckton of people more than ten,” groaned the girls. “Glad we didn’t rush in.”

“We have a new mission,” Anteros said. “Maman, Eos, And Esmé can keep our Papas and the Sincline ships safe. Our job is to take down the mainframe controlling all those enslaved minds, including aunt Romelle.”

“Not good enough,” Avélie said vengefully as her lip curled with aggravation. “No, we’re going to make sure this never happens again. And to do that, I have a call to make.”

“Who you gonna call?” Kieran asked. 

“Ghostbusters,” Endy interjected.

“Endy,” he groaned as he shoved him, “is this really the time?”

“Well, the rift creatures are basically ghosts, and that makes Ven’tar’s people Ghostbusters, so yes, you lumpy-witted testadine.”

“For the last time, I don’t understand your lame biology jokes.”

“He called you a turtle,” Anteros chuckled. “You know, ‘cause they’re slow.”

After Zarkon had returned to his own reality, he told his wife, son, and daughter-in-law about the devastating tragedies his alternate sons had endured. Lotarius was so sick to his stomach he vomited. The very thought of having his new bride killed in such a horrific manner made him weak in the knees. Ven’tar was randomly teary for days. Just when they had all regained composure and vowed to help their new adopted family as much as they could, a desperate call for help came through the transceivers. 

Zarkon picked up the message and summoned his family to the private communications centre. After a rather succinct debriefing, Ven’tar clasped her hands to her mouth, and her husband slammed his fist on a nearby table. “This is outrageous and utterly maddening. I assure you, my friends, we shall lend whatever assistance you may require.”

“Grandpapa, thanks for your help, and uh, nice to meet you Pap-, I mean, Lotarius and Ven’tar,” Avélie said urgently. “You look so much like our Papas, this is strange. I apologize if this is forward, but please, Lady Ven’tar, if you could quickly tell us or send us the teachings of your people, we’d really appreciate it.”

Lotarius’ confusion was evident. “Why would you need such a thing at such a time? Do you not need warships, supplies, and manpower? Time is of the essence.”

His wife smiled demurely concealing her profound appreciation of the wisdom these children exhibited. “My love,” she said gently, “there is much about our peoples and our histories that you do not yet know. It is unwise to enter into conflict not knowing one’s enemy. The Alteans were not the originators of the legendary life givers’ powers. Allow me to tell you of this history, for what can be given can also be taken away. And what may be gifted, may also be stolen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waschbären means washing-bear in German, likely the origin of the use of washing-bear in the 1800s (another old term for raccoon.)
> 
> The events of these realities never intersected (yet)with the canon reality but I’m still going with canon rules. Since Allura was able to gift Altean marks (and presumably powers since they are interrelated) to a non-Altean, it makes for an interesting plot point. *evil laughter*


	16. The Secret of the Life Givers

As they gathered around the communication screen and sat down to listen, the kids were wholly mesmerized by the Entaian princess, her delicate jade complexion, and her calming dovelike coo. Her every phrase was deliberate, and every conceit, poetic and crisp. It didn’t escape their notice that Lotarius was head over heels for her, often staring at her with his mouth agape. The girls giggled quietly to imagine their dad once so young and in love. Kieran slapped Endy when he showed up with a bowl of popcorn. “What?” he mouthed silently. His cousin backhanded him again. But his indiscretion went largely unnoticed by his family. As she spoke, they also admired the intricate detailing of the royal ensembles and their regalia; Lotor’s younger alternate self was very noble and dignified, though they found his attempted, but inexperienced austerity hilarious.

“My dear ones, this shall I say to you,” Ven’tar began, “Every spoken word may be a gift or a curse; we therefore speak only what is necessary. A fiery word may topple kingdoms and ignite wars, but a compassionate word may compel healing and life. Long ago, when life was new on our fledgling world, and the Ancient Mother still walked among us, she taught our people the central tenets of the Lifegivers. For life itself was spoken into existence and such power, due reverence and respect. So by oral tradition, her wisdom passed throughout the generations.”

Lotarius was astonished but did not interrupt. He did not seem to know anyone other than the Alteans possessed such powers. 

“We were visited by distinguished explorers who hailed from a land of peace and prosperity. Their leader spoke of grand alliances and a glorious future after witnessing Mother’s abilities. For they too wielded magical abilities by the touch of their hands. Captivated by his silver tongue, she placed her trust in him. 

“Trust became friendship, and friendship became love, but alas, she failed to see the darkness in his heart. He desired peace and prosperity, but spared no cost to achieve it. By artifice and deceit, in the end, she forfeited her power to him with a kiss. Without a heart of harmony, chaos became his cornerstone. What he could not speak, he touched instead. And destruction reigned from all he touched. Great stone warriors were all brought to life to forcefully suppress rebellion and conquer those deemed too violent. Stone to life and life to ashes, Mother wept bitter tears.” Ven’tar paused as she noticed the children recoil in recognition. 

“Maman also taught us to be cautious with our words and to be in harmony with all life,” Avélie started.

“So the fundamental difference between them was that the ancient mother believed harmony with all life underpinned peace. However, the usurper saw peace as merely an absence of conflict, and so sought to achieve it by any means necessary!” Anaïs finished.

“Yes, my children, your mother taught you well,” princess Ven’tar beamed. “Was she perhaps familiar with the teachings of our people?”

“What our father did not even know, she uncovered,” Anteros replied. “She somehow figured out the connection between your people and the Life Givers. She did what even Princess Allura and Papa could not. She tamed the white lion, even though she is neither Altean, nor Entaian.”

The trill of Ven’tar’s sweet laughter suddenly filled their communication room. “Oh my little ones, then you have no need of my guidance. Your mother has already instilled in you everything you need to know.”

“How did this treacherous sellout gain their trust in the first place? That vile betrayer,” seethed her husband.

“The visitors were shapeshifters, my love. Our people had welcomed them as kin from a distant land. They had not disclosed that they were spacefarers, though I should imagine true explorers do not interfere with the life they encounter. By the time we discovered their true intentions, it was too late. Our gifts had been stolen and distorted.”

“But the only people who can shapeshift are...”

“Yes, my love.”

Lotarius was so downtrodden at this revelation but she reaffirmed and lifted him with her words. “Our union, is not just one of love, dearest, it is also an opportunity to right the wrongs of our ancestors, and bring true peace between our people.”

“I had no idea,” he replied. “Is that why so many regard me with disdain?”

“Perhaps, but they have changed their outlook since they discovered who you truly are. You are not defined by the errors of your ancestors or the history of your bloodline. Absent the words,” she continued as she turned to look at her audience, “open the soul. However, now our young ones must make haste,” she said as she addressed the Beaumont children. “I fear grave danger awaits all of you. I will say this: the lion can be tamed only once.”

“But if that’s true, then why where we able to obtain powers from Oriande after our mom had done that?” asked the twins.

“In time, we may discuss the minutia of Oriande, and you are all very welcome to call upon us anytime. But time is short...”

“How did the Ancient Mother defeat the Altean then?” Keiran interjected.

“She already told us the answer,” Anteros said quickly. “Princess Ven’tar doesn’t waste any words. Everything she says has a purpose. Let’s go guys! Thanks so much, we’ll keep in touch with you!” 

“Wait, what?” came a chorus of confused and astonished siblings. “Anteros, come on, we haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Lotarius the explorer from the legends was the betrayer, but his name doesn’t matter. She said she sees this Lotarius for who he is. That is also the secret of the white lion. If you seek power for yourself, the lion becomes an enemy. If seek power for peace, the lion becomes an ally. But if you seek peace in harmony, you will see him as he truly is... that means, we have to say his name! That’s how to tame him!” Anteros exclaimed. 

They turned to see Ven’tar wiping tears from her eyes. “You all possess extraordinary beauty within and without. Peace be upon you, my children. Now go and quiet the chaos.”

After they all signed off, Lotarius had to sit down, stunned by the shocking revelations. After a while, he finally said to his partner, “it seems there is much I do not know about you.”

Zarkon chortled as he slapped his son on the back. “Well, what do you expect when you only dated her for two phebes before you decided you were to be wed?!” Lotarius had been so enraptured by her tale, he’d forgotten all about his dad.

“What? I knew I loved her from the moment I met her. By the way, Ven, why did you call them children? I know they appear young, but they are over a century old. They are older than I am, in fact!”

She smiled a furtive smile as she replied softly, “My love, as you stated, there are many things you do not yet know about me, including my age.”

Lotarius pointed his finger and opened his mouth, but it hung open as he realized he had never asked her how old she was. Zarkon laughed so loudly, he shook the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lotor never knowing how old his partner is seems to be the one constant across realities.
> 
> So, it seems shocking for Alteans to have such a dark past, but hey, history is written by the victors. Who knows how biased the official story was? In fact, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes to write it like this: Alfor used his life giving powers to create a super weapon that kills things. Oriande kills everyone except for the “chosen”. Allura used her life giving powers to kill Lotor out of revenge. Alteans clearly did not understand or respect how to use their LIFE GIVING powers. They only save the lives of their allies. So, I ask this: if you are only kind to your friends, then what makes you different from your enemies?


	17. Smaragdine Distraction

“Aw, I’d be lion if I said I didn’t want a cat familiar,” Endymion joked as they put on their space suits. “Anyway, you should have asked the kitty cat’s name before you signed off.”

“I already know what his name is,” Anteros smiled.

“What? Oh come on, how the heck do you know?” Kieran groaned. 

Endy grinned. “Because he inherited the lion’s share of Maman’s intelligence.” He then laughed way too much at his own joke. 

“Ugh, Endy, is now really the time?”

The girls also chuckled. “I guess that’s why we call him a dandy-lion.”

“Arrrgh, seriously?”

“Ok, sorry Keiran,” Endy apologized, stifling a giggle. “Not feline it right now?”

When his cousin frowned as all of his siblings laughed even harder, Endy replied, “Actually, I’m scared shitless. All of us risk losing our parents or our lives. The jokes help with critical thinking. Allura is way more powerful than Honerva was and is a greater threat than any of our parents ever faced.”

“So what now?” asked his cousin.

“We have to assume aunt Romelle was compromised from the beginning. So we use what we leaked to her aboard our ship to our advantage. They don’t know what we have deduced but she does know most of our strengths and weaknesses,” Anteros said as he shook his head. “I can’t believe they were able to catch us off our guard and take all our parents.” He had tried to put on a brave front but it was evident he was faltering. 

“They haven’t won yet,” Anaïs replied gently. “We still have the paladins of Voltron. And we have our Allura who is on our side.”

Though all of the original human paladins had passed on, the Allura of this reality continued to be the blue Paladin. Once the mayhem the Great War was over, she continued to strive relentlessly to assist in the colonization of New Altea. Amidst of all the tumult, she had also been caught up in a whirlwind romance with a handsome Altean engineer. It wasn’t until much later, after all the dust had settled, that reality finally caught up with her. She realized she had kept herself busy to avoid confronting her pain head-on. She grieved for her father, and for her people who had been lost. It was then that Nymuë had approached her one summer evening, many months after the war ended, and opened up about her own struggles. The two would walk together on a short hike up to a peaceful little waterfall, but neither would know the full impact of this small reconciliation on the course of history.

“It is gorgeous from this vantage point,” gasped Allura as the sun shone brightly, scintillant and warm through the boreal canopy. “But are you certain this was a good idea, given how you’re expecting any day now?” she laughed.

“I won’t have many opportunities after the twins are born, so I thought this was as good a day as any. How are you holding up these days?”

“I’ve been quite occupied with the New Altea project. I want to give my people the best chance at a new life. They’ve been through so much. So why did you want to meet with me?”

“Listen, Allura,” the former medic began, “I just wanted to say that the reason I distanced myself from you at the very beginning was because of all of the people on board the castle, we were probably the two who could understand each other the most. I had been accustomed to pushing people away my whole life to deal with the pain of losing my family.” 

After a moment of quiet contemplation, Allura replied, “I admit, I’ve kept myself extremely busy to avoid having to deal with all of anguish. But before I say anymore about that, I...” she paused, having a difficult time finding the right words. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry about Lotor. I imagine it was traumatizing to you, after being able to form bonds for the first time, and then having it almost ripped away from you again... because of me. I shouldn’t have been so rash in shooting at him.”

Nymuë had been a little taken aback, not having expected an apology. She didn’t reply immediately, sensing that Allura had more to say.

“I didn’t realize at first, how much it would affect you. In fact, I didn’t understand at all until I fell in love with Arenor. It wasn’t until I almost lost him in an accident because the negligence of another that I understood how you must have felt. Finding love, finding family again only to have it nearly taken from you. I can not blame you for feeling as you did then.”

Nymuë smiled gratefully. “I think I just needed time to heal. I’m not angry at you, Allura. I mean, I was at first, but I’ve also watched you grow tremendously in the time that I’ve known you. I really appreciate your contrition; it’s not easy to admit fault and to change. We have a saying, ‘to err is human, to forgive, divine.’”

“My father was not above admitting his mistakes. He did so even as a collection of memories. I am grateful to be able to fully appreciate that in him now. Were it not for the paladins holding me back, it would have been the worst possible outcome. They have also grown quite a lot, in no small part thanks to your example. But I have agonized over how closely we came to making such a monumental mistake. Perhaps... I shouldn’t even be any sort of Paladin.” She turned away with tears in her eyes to stare distantly at the horizon.

“You know what? It wasn’t your fault the Lions were so poorly designed. This whole prophetic pilot thing really has to go. You were thrust into an impossible situation with little to no training. That wasn’t fair. You needed time to deal with all the trauma of loss and time to train as a soldier. We can’t change the past, but we can change the future. The war isn’t over yet, Allura. And...”

“Wait, what do you mean the war isn’t over? We won in both realities.”

“No, we didn’t. We temporarily unseated the threat, but the rift creatures were the originators of all the pain and suffering. Did... did you not realize that those were our true enemies?”

The princess sat stock still for a moment and felt the heat of embarrassment rise in her chest. How could she not have made the connection? “I... I don’t know. I was so angry for so long, I guess I blamed the Galra for all of our suffering. They were violent long before my father made the treaty with them, and victory or death has always been their mantra.”

Nymuë exhaled deeply and closed her eyes. Was Allura truly so naïve as to not consider the source Zarkon and Honerva’s corruption? She had more work ahead of her than she thought. She was going to need a lot of guidance to become a good leader; it was quite unbelievable how the Altean education system had failed her so spectacularly. Now was the time then, to gently show her a different way.

After a short discussion, Allura walked in silence. All of her life, she had treated peace as an absence of conflict but it seemed there was so much more to it than that. Her brush with catastrophic failure was a constant grim reminder of the perilous path of unbridled rage and vengeance. It hung over her heavily. She slowly began to realize much of what she had been taught was ineffective and negligent, even. When the Ancients told her everything she needed to know was already within, it had been surprisingly lacking. Their peace had always hinged on ridding the universe of the aggressors. In hindsight, her treatment of Keith was completely nonsensical, but it was rooted in Altean prejudices: that their ways of peace and diplomacy were superior to those of other cultures. 

The stark realization struck her like a pack of panicked yelmores. If her core values were incomplete, she was completely lost, and her identity, meaningless. There was no way this could be true. Yet she witnessed firsthand the devastation her alternate self had wrought upon the universe, using her life giving powers as a weapon to take life. As her inner turmoil peaked in dissonance and despair, she simultaneously reached the end of their hike. “True peace is harmony with all life,” Nymuë had said. The cascading waterfall before her created plumes of mist rising above the water’s surface, its relentless roar paradoxically quieting the deafening ache within.

Nymuë spoke softly as they took in the beauty of the rushing river. “The water does not discriminate who it nourishes, nor does it keep a record of who has wronged whom. Every life has value, and although that is an arbitrary determination, it is also an enlightened one. Likewise, I make no discrimination as to who I treat as a doctor. There are no enemies or friends. There are simply people. And that is also your role as a life giver and healer. You must never use your power to take life because it is not yours to take. That is what I believe to be the true path to peace. And if you don’t think you’re there yet? Good! Strive, read, learn, do whatever it takes to get there! Your journey is just beginning. The blue lion chooses pilots with greatness in their hearts. Be wary, however, that greatness is not synonymous with goodness. Become a pilot worthy of wielding such immense responsibility, and as the leg of Voltron, become the pillar of strength and wisdom upon which it stands. Because if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”

In that moment, a new warmth washed through her and everything became clearer. Nymuë was not just making peace with her, but leading by example. Deeply moved by her kindness and magnanimity, Allura was suddenly determined to be the best healer and peacemaker she could be.

In the end, the restoration and remedy applied to her heart allowed her to let go of the remnants of Altea she had so desperately clutched to herself. With renewed purpose, Allura relinquished her title as princess and focused instead on learning to be a healer. She never forgot the advice to ‘read a fucking book’ and devoured innumerable resources on history, war, and philosophy from as many different cultures as she could find. She took the time to listen to what people from all walks of life told her. Every book she read and every person she listened to expanded her horizons, and increased her empathy. It was an arduous yet exhilarating journey of self discovery. 

When they had parted ways, Nymuë had left her with transcripts of an ancient text. The philosophy contained within was completely absent from Altean teachings, yet it comprised the foundation upon which life giving principles were predicated. ‘Dying for another, one is ennobled. Living for another, one is enlightened. Loving another, one is tranquil. Loving all, one is transcendent.’ Those words changed her life. 

Many decades later, graceful in wisdom and ageless in beauty, as she sat near the soothing waters of a martian waterfall, rereading one of her favourite books, an urgent call would put to test everything she had learned in her lifetime. She was surprised that Lotor’s children had opted to call her first rather than the Black Paladin. 

“Allura, we need your help!” came the desperate plea. She scanned their panicked faces and patiently listened with increasing disbelief as they spoke of the wretched betrayal of her alternate self. When they were finished, the first thing she said to Anteros was, “I thought I told your father over a century ago to sic the Nymuë of his reality on that Allura and smack some righteous sense into that brainless, brassy chucklefuck. Did he not do so?!”

The children were stunned into momentary silence. Whatever they were expecting, it was definitely not this. They watched in stupefied awe as she continued, “I am everything I am today because of your mother. She brought peace to people as if... as if everyday would be her last. Her passing was a loss to all of us,” Allura continued sadly. “So was she not there in the other reality to guide she-who-shall-not-be-named?”

Endymion furrowed his brows. “Did she just call her Voldemort?!” he whispered furiously.

“Oh no, uh, n-no,” Anaïs stammered with incredulity, “I guess you don’t know yet. Maman had her alternate self, Guinevere, cryogenically frozen because Papa was not able to find a way to prolong her life. She... she was recently revived to take her place.” As much as they wanted to, they couldn’t reveal Nymuë was still alive. It was clear that she had kept it top secret for a reason and the fate of the universe now hinged on success of this ruse. 

Allura shook away the surprise to regain focus. What a regretful revelation. So the other Allura had strayed onto a path of darkness, been seduced by it, and had taken in a dark entity. The utter fool. After living over a century in peace, she might be forced to “punch” some sense into her. “This is a gravely concerning matter,” she stated. “But we will get them back. The paladins of Voltron stand with you.”

From there, Allura summoned the remaining paladins. Kieran, as the yellow Paladin, flew his cousins to the Citadel of Lions situated on New Altea. The towering castle was breathtaking in architectural prowess. Rolling hills and flowering fields stretched as far as the horizon. Their friends were already waiting for them, greeting them warmly with open arms. Traditionally, Aria had piloted the green lion with Valfor operating the cloaking, however, with curiosity, came adaptability and innovation. The Green lion eventually accepted both as its pilots, an unprecedented decision that even Allura could not explain. They worked intuitively and fluidly as a team, in near perfect synchronization. 

As hugs were still in progress on the grand terrace, they were interrupted by a bearish clamour. 

“The fuck are you still doing here? I thought you died ages ago,” growled a familiar voice.

“What are you on about, you miserable old marmot? You saw me this morning.”

“You’re so old, you can’t even summon a proper insult. Who the fuck let this fossil out of the nursing home?”

“Still wearing each other out, I see,” Allura interjected, unimpressed. 

“Well, someone has to remind him to drink his prune juice,” Ashok cackled with delight. 

Mocking each other was actually a coping mechanism to deal with the grievously short lifespans of humans. They had lost some of their best friends in the past century, with few left to console them except one another. As a joke, they insisted Aria and Val call them Grandpa, though they were still quite young overall. Without quintessence, Galra lifespans still approximated those of Alteans, a millennium in general. 

Korvak ignored him and went straight to Lotor’s kids. One by one, he pulled them into a crushing hug. “I’ve missed all of you,” he said tenderly.

“Even though you saw us last week?” they laughed.

“Hey, listen,” Ashok intruded as he slapped his partner on the shoulder. “I saw his ugly mug five minutes ago and he can’t even remember that. He’s too old to know what happened last week.”

“He’s too old to remember,” Korvak mimicked in falsetto. “Listen, you cantankerous cur, just shut up and bring everyone to the situation room.”

“Hey, Goose, how you doing? You holding up ok?” Ashok asked gently as he ruffled his hair. Anteros nodded gratefully. He was the only one who still called him Goose, but now more as a nod to Top Gun which was his favourite movie of all time. 

“Our first priority,” began Anteros after debriefing the situation, “is securing the white lion. In the event evil Allura somehow drags that information out of Maman, we have to get there before they do.”

“They’ll be waiting for us, won’t they?” Val piped up. “I imagine Oriande will be heavily guarded.”

“Yes, but they still think we are going on our original mission. When we were aboard Veritas, our plan of attack was to infiltrate Allura’s residence and extract the creature from her. If Aunt Romelle was already compromised, that information would be leaked them.”

In that moment, the door dematerialized, even though it was encrypted by password, to reveal Romelle. Everyone jumped to their feet and drew their weapons. 

Meanwhile, Romelle and Nevé, under the guise of being controlled, had brought the Lotors before Queen Allura. Veritas and Viris were inoperable, having initiated emergency protocol; they would only resume function and grant access to all six of their designated pilots: each of the children. The Altean soldiers had resorted to hauling them over and throwing them into an empty hangar. They had, in fact, questioned the sanity of dragging these massive, nonfunctional mechas across realities, who were clutching their toy cubes, curled in the fetal position. Of all of the things the Queen had ever ordered, this mission had to be the strangest. They couldn’t go thirty ticks without hearing their own voices echoed by the confounded cubes. A corrupted Voltron guided their travel between realities to arrive at their destination: the Grand Castle of Lions. 

Flotor, having clutched the back of Neve’s head and smeared her blood across his forehead, stumbled dramatically across the throne room, muttering to himself.

“Of all the foolish, pigheaded things to do, you son of a frothy camel-toed bunion, how could you let them get her?!” he raged at his alternate self.

“You useless son of a rat-faced sloth,” Lotor grumbled without missing a beat, “you’re the one who didn’t notice anything was wrong with Romelle. I was trying to warn you.”

“Say that to my face, asshole.”

“I just did you...”

“ENOUGH!” yelled Queen Allura. “Lotor, it has been far too long but do you two always argue like this?! Romelle! I thought I made it quite clear that the Lotors were not to be harmed in anyway. Why has he got blood on his face?”

“Apologies, Majesty. He was attempting to kiss his wife but she threw him into the wall. We shall tend to his wounds immediately.”

“Wait, we have more pressing matters to attend to,” she replied, sneering at Nevé. “I must know how this woman defeated Haggar, and you shall tell me this at once,” she commanded as she addressed her former flame while pointing to a subdued and stoic Nevé.

Flotor shrugged and slurred his words, “I have no idea. She never told me.” He squinted at her. “Why d’you care anyway? You dragged us all the way out here to ask us ‘bout the witch? ‘Cuz lemme tell ya, ding dong, the witch is dead. And why... why’re there two of you? Did you bring your other self here? Hey, Allura... don’t take in a dark entity, ‘kay? They’re bad for your complexion. Like, so bad.”

“Are you alright? And do you expect me to believe she never told you?”

Lotor cleared his throat and glared at her with disdain. “Precisely. To protect the universe from another Haggar and from the likes of you...”

“Hey man,” Flotor interrupted. “Chill. Don’t even worry ‘bout it. Listen bro...”

“I’m not your bro,” retorted Lotor.

“Uh, you kinda are, actually. Brother from another mother... but the same mother.”

Now was their chance to distract her. Lotor looked at him like he was crazy. “Are you quite mad? You’ve gone completely daft, man,” he yelled. “Must have hit your thick head harder than I thought. Serves you right for attempting such a stupid manoeuvre. Thank you for compromising the best advantage we had!”

“My head hurts, and before I pass out, I’mma say this, bitches. Our Allura gonna take care of it. See, there’s two of them right them,” he mumbled as he pointed while listlessly tottering toward the impatient queen. Having just bit into a hidden emetic capsule Nevé had slipped into his mouth when he kissed her, he vomited all over her royal highness, and collapsed to the floor.

Romelle stepped in and said, “He is clearly head-injured and if I do not assist, he may suffer permanent damage.”

“Ugh, fine do as you must,” she uttered and recoiled, with her mouth agape. “Guards, see to it that our guests are treated hospitably while my attendants clean this mess.” Lotor had to summon all of his strength not to laugh; Flotor ingeniously bought them time and created a fantastic diversion.

Their captor returned a full varga later, demanding the presence of Lotor and Nevé. 

“You,” Allura started as she glared at Nevé, “are going to tell me how you defeated Haggar.”

“I did not defeat her. I am from this reality and only met the Lotors two weeks ago.”

“That is a lie. How are you lying while under my control? You disgust me,” Allura scoffed. Failure was not even a consideration this point.

“It is not a lie,” Lotor retorted. “Nymuë passed away three weeks ago so this whole criminal enterprise you’ve been running has been futile.” Although he was indignant at her display of selfishness and malice, he was also impressed at Nymuë’s unorthodox plan. His satisfaction, however, was short-lived.

“Then I suggest you figure it out. You did it once. You can do it again. Otherwise, I would hate for something to happen to Lotor’s beautiful daughters.” Allura snapped her fingers and her armed guard brought Eos and Esmé before them. “I have already been exceptionally merciful since I caught them encroaching on my personal space.”

“You wouldn’t dare, you absolute witch,” he seethed as he caught sight of Eos’ slight nod and quick smile. “If you so much as harm a hair on their heads... You are not fit to be Queen, nor are you worthy to hold such power. Nymuë understood the responsibility that came with taming the lion. You have fallen so far from that ideal, you will never, ever come close to...”

“Shhh, my darling, but I am worthy, so the Ancients have already determined,” she simpered as she touched her cheeks. “And I should think it imprudent to insult me while I hold your daughters captive, my sweet. You will come to appreciate me in time.” Lotor cringed at her saccharine smile and loathsome way she licked her lips.

“Queen Allura, Lotor,” Nevé stated with a curt bow, “please accompany me to your record room. I believe the answer lies with the Entaian people destroyed by Zarkon.”

“That makes no sense!” she countered. “Why aren’t you looking in Altean records? The only people Zarkon destroyed were my people! That is what Sendak’s memories revealed.”

“I am unable to answer your question,” she replied mechanically. “I only know Nymuë researched historical records for a month before she unlocked Oriande’s secrets.”

“A month? What is that? A movement? A phoeb? Henceforth, you are forbidden from using earth units of time.”

“It is a phoeb.”

“I refuse to wait that long. You have three quintants to figure it out, or your daughters will pay the price.”

“I will require Lotor’s assistance; he also aided my alternate self in this quest and is the most knowledgeable about the Entaian people.”

“Fine. However, I will be closely watching both of you in case you decide to become uncooperative, darling.”

“That would be optimal,” Nevé replied sweetly. “Now, please lead the way, your majesty.” 

This was the most crucial part of their operation now. The twins, wielding the full power of the White Lion they had inherited in utero when their mother had tamed it, had just removed Allura’s life giving powers without her knowledge. They had gotten close enough to do so when their father vomited on her. Now they had to all keep that information secret for as long as possible while the rest of their family and allies dismantled Allura’s regime from the inside out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really liked Coran’s Star Wars reference when he said,” Help me Bee Boh Bee, you’re my only hope.”
> 
> I liked Lotor channeling Vader when he said, “Join me,” right before the paladins fought him much, much less.
> 
> Hence the Jabba the Hutt paraphrase in this chapter, “soon you will learn to appreciate me.”


	18. Rainbow Revelation

“What are you doing here?!” Kieran exclaimed. “If you think for one second you’re fooling any of us...”

“No, it is not my intention to deceive you,” Romelle began. “I have very little time left.”

With their weapons still at the ready, Korvak motioned to lower them. All complied with the Black Paladin except for Kieran.

Romelle parted her hair to reveal the tattooed barcode on the nape of her neck. “I am not from this reality but I was sent here to infiltrate Lotor’s family as his sister-in-law.” Turning to Kieran, she continued, “We captured your mother before you and I received the transmission from my reality. We then sent her back to you with a hoktril implant when I returned to the house to allegedly retrieve my belongings.”

“So why are you here now? What more could you possibly want? Give me one reason why I shouldn’t...” the yellow Paladin spat before he was interrupted by Korvak who shook his head and motioned for him to stand down.

“I could not continue with this mission. I have disabled the hoktril within myself but because it is linked to autonomic function, I will die very soon. I had to tell you... even...”

Kieran was struck with confusion and disbelief. “Why? I don’t understand...”

“Although you are not my son, when you called me mother, I... I came to love you as if you were...” she muttered before she collapsed. 

As Korvak and a couple of the kids rushed to assist her, their cousin stood shellshocked and immobilized. An Altean medical team was summoned to resuscitate Romelle while team Voltron readied their departure. Kieran took one last mournful glance as she was being wheeled away.

As the Citadel or Lions took flight from the Martian surface, the atmosphere was tense with apprehension and turmoil. Romelle had shaken all of them to the core. Anteros paced back and forth on the bridge as the rest of the crew watched tentatively. There was an ominous feeling he was still something missing and he couldn’t figure it out. Why had Maman directed them to seek Allura first if it came down to it? “Something is missing,” he finally muttered, “and we’re running out of time.”

“So we can’t take down the mainframe without killing everyone who is under that witch’s control,” Kieran seethed as he slammed his fist into the nearest console. “Fuck that bitch.” 

Romelle’s son was visibly unnerved. They didn’t know yet whether or not alternate Romelle would make it, but it was clear that there would be casualties as a result of Queen Allura’s corruption. 

As Allura readied the wormhole, Korvak attempted to alleviate the distressing news by refocusing the team. “Our first priority is to get to Oriande, then.”

“How will we bypass their defences?” Valfor asked. “They can’t know of our arrival.”

“We go to ours first. And you two,” he nodded to the twins, “will cut through realities with the suits your parents developed ages ago. They’ve been tweaked a few times to allow for true interreality travel.”

“Oh, the infamous cat suit,” Ashok mused as he smacked his partner’s behind. “This motherfucker can’t get enough of me in it.”

“Is it really the time right now?”

“You’re gay as fuck and you know it.”

Ignoring Ashok’s last comment, he continued as he crossed his arms, unimpressed, “Do you know how many white lions there are?”

“I assumed there was only one at each location!” Aria exclaimed. 

“Lotor and I were subjected to a trial at the same time,” Allura began. “Could that mean there are two?”

“Wait,” Anaïs said. “Both Eos and Esmé have access to that power and Avélie and I also took the test at Oriande simultaneously after Maman had already tamed it and removed it.” 

“Are there four of them? Or one that can multitask?” queried Val.

“There is only one,” Anteros replied. “When Princess Ven’tar spoke of the Ancient Mother, she said her gift had been stolen by the Usurper. That gift was the White Lion. But because there are remnant echoes of it, it implies to me that it was perverted, possibly separated into components...” he gasped and paused as realization dawned on him. “Because he couldn’t control it!”

“That means the true white lion is much more powerful than we have seen,” Anaïs uttered in awe. “She said that life was spoken into existence!”

“Wait,” Allura added, thinking of the rainbow in the mist of the fountain earlier in the day. “Coran said the lions had basically engineered themselves. Do you think it possible that my father could have also broken pieces off of the white lion to create Voltron... just like white light is broken into a rainbow from the rain?”

This caused everyone to stop in their tracks. 

“So, you are the missing part of the puzzle,” Anteros cried. “You are the heart of Voltron and the other half of the white lion’s power!! That is why Maman sent us to you first!”

The former princess blinked in disbelief. Had Nymuë known over a century ago? Had she made peace with her knowing all of this?!

“Okay, okay, that’s good and all,” Kieran said, “but that means the other Allura is also god tier powerful. Holy fuck on a fuckstick.”

“Alright, kids, there’s Oriande up ahead. Oh, I remember that goddamned ship’s graveyard,” Ashok interjected. “What was up with the Ancient Alteans, anyway? Ooo, let’s kill every goddamn sucker in sight.”

“I don’t know,” Allura replied distastefully. “Not very peaceful or diplomatic if you ask me.”

“Hey,” Endymion said after listening intently to the entire exchange, “after we infiltrate the other reality, and steal their lion, do you think there’s any chance we can combine the two halves of the white lions from different realities?” 

“Bitch, I don’t know, but we’re about to find out,” Ashok whooped.


	19. Hiding in Plain Sight

“That means I really never was the alchemist my father was,” Allura lamented as the white hole loomed in the distance. “He was a genius. I... I didn’t even know it possible to harness the power of the white lion. After all these years, I’m merely an alchemy dilettante.”

“Allura,” Anaïs replied, “You created Veritas. She became a sentient being filled with compassion and goodness. It is apparent to me that the Voltron lions are shadows of their former self. That could be why Black would still accept Zarkon, as wholly corrupted as he was, and why Voltron still obeys an entirely morally bankrupt leader in the other reality. I disagree with what Alfor did; the white lion was not meant to be rent apart, hapless and servile. It was a creator and protector of life, to be respected and esteemed.”

“Now we need to focus,” Avélie smiled with sudden inspiration. “Our task is to figure out how to tame the white lion. Anteros knows but he can’t tell us. This is a journey we have to travel on our own. Allura, if I’m not mistaken, Maman was the one who gave all of you a hint when you arrived here the first time. What... was the hint?”

“Tame the lion, you say? I was unaware that was even possible,” she gasped. Shaking her head in disbelief, “To answer your question: I shall never forget, as it was so unexpected. The key was found in an Altean lullaby, widely known to most Altean children.”

The kids groaned simultaneously. They had heard innumerable lullabies since they were young, and to sift through dozens upon dozens of songs when time was of the essence seemed incredibly daunting. It had to be simpler than this. “There were so many,” a few of them protested.

“Caw, caw,” Ashok hinted, “Quoth the raven.” When it was clear nobody paid him any heed, he cawed even louder. 

“What... are you doing?” Korvak asked abruptly. 

“Nothing. Do you want to hear an Australian raven this time? Aaaaughaaaaw...” 

“He’s probably referring to Edgar Allen Poe,” Endymion interrupted. “‘Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore! Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”’ But we already know we need to figure out the lion’s name.”

“I don’t know what shocks me more, the fact that you know how to help them or that you’ve read Poe,” Korvak said, narrowing his eyes.

Ashok shrugged his shoulders. “The last thing Nymuë told me before she passed was what Keith’s wolf had said to her. The moment Keith saw him as something other than food or a nuisance, when he acknowledged who he actually was, he decided to follow him. You know, she was the only one who could understand that big slobberbucket and he supposedly told her his name, but she never told any of us!”

Endymion and his sisters had a simultaneous realization then. Keith had rejected every name everyone ever suggested and insisted on calling him Wolf until the canine came up with his own name. So his name in the end... was simply Wolf! Princess Ven’tar had spoken of seeing her husband for who he was, and that that was integral to harmony with life... so that was it. Seeing the lion for who he truly was the answer! The girls were beyond excited that the beautiful answer to their puzzle had lived with them, played with them, and licked them into slobbery oblivion. 

Anaïs turned to her brother. “Taro, did Maman tell you about Wolf? I wonder why she never told us! This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“It’s just a guess on my part, but she knows her enemies. If she knew Allura might head down this path, the least likely target would be a child and a paladin who weren’t Altean. Ashok and I can’t get into Oriande, why would she want us when she could have you? So she hid the last key to the puzzle in the least likely place. Allura would most likely overlook a ridiculous Galra commander who once dressed as a pink Easter Bunny and the youngest, whom she has neither seen, nor heard of. Papa went to great lengths to hide my existence from her, but they knew she had seen the four pink-haired daughters.”

Ashok snickered and said, “I resent the implication that pink is ridiculous and not absolutely fabulous.”

“But how did she know Wolf’s requirement would be similar to that of the white lion? It would have to be a pretty big coincidence,” Aria asked.

“I don’t know... it’s possible she told Ashok that story because it was benign enough to stay under the radar, but happened to be totally related?”

Endy headed over to where Valfor was sitting with his sister. Losing his parents had broken his quiet and sensitive heart. Even though many years had passed, the ache could sometimes be just as raw as before. Being reminded of Wolf, Lance, and Keith had brought tears to his eyes. “Hey,” Endy began softly as he hugged him. “I think your dad’s love for Wolf was what saved the universe. Maman probably figured out the mystery of the white lion because of it... and we are all here now as a result.” The twins wiped their tears and nodded gratefully. 

No amount of crude jokes could stop the waterworks from the red and black paladins this time. Lance and Keith had been some of their closest friends. They had taken the kids under their wing as their own after their parents had passed and seeing them cry simply opened the floodgates every time. As Endy did his best to console the teary troop, Anteros and Allura helped the twins prepare for their mission. 

“Allura, aren’t you coming with us then?” Anaïs asked.

“No, I’m quite certain my place is here with the paladins. I would be jeopardizing the mission if you needed Voltron but mostly, I feel that the white lion is for you, not for me. And besides,” she smiled, “I need to speak more to Ashok about his apparent love for poetry.” She declined to say she was at a complete loss as to what the lion’s name was.

The girls nodded as their brother gave them hugs. “Be careful, and watch your backs,” he warned. “Call us on the transceivers if something goes wrong in the other reality.” As they donned their space suits, it was surreal to feel the black material automatically adjust to their size and conform seamlessly to their small frames. Struggling to twist wayward tufts of hair securely into their helmets, they briefly joked about chopping it all off. 

Allura was aghast. Long, flowing hair still symbolized beauty and status in Altean culture, and she still clung to some of the old ideals Coran had instilled in her: diplomacy was all about appearance. She appealed to their senses as Lotor’s daughters were renowned for their cotton candy curls, and the envy of many Altean women. The girls looked at each other skeptically and then laughed, before offering a half-hearted promise to look after their hair. 

Launching toward the resplendent cosmic entity in a small space shuttle, the guardian lion opened its jaws for them as it had done before. 

“Hey,” Anaïs said as she piloted the shuttle around the islands drifting aloft in the cherry-hued skies, “Allura was not what I expected at all, is she? I was so mad at her for calling Papa all those horrible things and for shooting at him, I had not known how much she had grown or what she was capable of. I guess we don’t know her very well, do we?”

“Yeah, I was surprised too,” her sister replied. “I don’t know if I could have done what Maman did. She forgave her for trying to kill Papa with the blue lion. If she had been blinded by vengeance, or even if she decided to hate her silently, we’d be in a shitload of trouble now.”

“Hmm... I’d say she made her peace. But the fact that we don’t know her and never spent time with her implies to me the consequences of assaulting and trying to kill Papa. Close friendship was probably impossible. She’s like the only Paladin we don’t know really well. Maman and our Papas were good friends with all the others, new and old. Maybe it was technically forgiveness, so she could heal from the anger and bitterness. But she never forgot.”

“Okay, I think I can live with that. We don’t have to be close with her either. But we can keep the peace between us.”

“It’s a difficult balance. Feels like walking on eggshells,” Anaïs sighed. “I was nice to her, but I’m still mad at her.”

“Maman probably took some time to get to where she needed to be. Vengeance and hatred are the antitheses to peace, but so instinctual and difficult to overcome.”

“Hey, off topic, but it’s kinda weird that Altean alchemy is confused by twins. Like, Maman went in while pregnant, and the lion was like, yo, both Eo and Ez are the shit. The green lion can’t tell Aria and Val apart. I wonder if this lion will be like that too. I hope we get to stay together, ‘cuz I’m kind of scared.” 

“Yeah, me too, Ananas. Also weird that the whole point of this exercise is to see someone’s heart, but the examiners are the ones who can’t do that.”

“Yeah, weird.”

Meanwhile, back on the Citadel ship, Aria received an urgent transmission. “Guys! Lotor and Nevé have access to the record room. I’m telling them now we can’t hack the mainframe without killing everyone who has a hoktril, including Nevé and Romelle.”

“We’ll be limiting our transmissions, in case they are discovered,” Val replied, perched on the spine of a seat. Valfor would never sit properly in a chair; he found them extremely uncomfortable and was always kneeling, crouching, or squatting on unusual surfaces. 

“The only thing they’ve said is that Altura has Eos and Esmé.”

“Fuck, that was quick,” Endy groaned. 

“Wait,” Anteros stated, “what exactly did they say?”

“Twins nabbed...”

“That’s a weird way to say it... it could mean they were captured or that they stole something and the sentence is unfinished. There’s no period or end communication.”

“If they have taken Altura’s powers, time is even shorter,” Korvak replied. “It’s only a matter of time before she notices and I shudder to think what she’s capable of. I’ve received approval from Galra central command to launch a coordinated assault, and use deadly force if necessary. We will also need to inform the United Nations and the Garrison Admiral. This is a serious crime against the Galra Republic, New Altea, as well as earth, and if we are not careful, an escalation into all-out war. We operate under the assumption that either or both are true.”

“Already on it,” Valfor said. “Just waiting for clearance from our officials. We can stall as well. The admiral can make contact and call for a peaceful resolution or risk the wrath of all three worlds. I know they won’t back down, but it gives us time to prepare.” 

“Since the mainframe cannot be taken down, we’re switching targets to the Queen herself. As with any extraction and hostage situation, lethal force may be necessary. With this large scale operation, and potentially dozens or even hundreds of innocents, we’ll have to call in special ops as well as the Blade,” Korvak continued. “Ashok, Val, and Aria, you will call in two contingents for intelligence and infiltration, as well as for hostage rescue. Allura, Kieran, you two have intimate knowledge of Altean tech; I need weaknesses and potential points of infiltration. A map of the Capital and the Castle are on file. Move it, everyone, we expect to hear from the girls within the hour.” 

“Kieran, are you alright?” Allura asked kindly as the others left the bridge. 

“Short answer? No,” he blurted out, “I feel sick to my stomach about what happened to Maman and Romelle. It’s like they took her from me twice and I... I know I’m supposed to be the yellow paladin who is full of compassion, but all I want to do right now is take evil Allura down. I don’t care if she dies. I’ll do it myself if I have to.”

“I know how you feel, because that’s exactly how I felt about Zarkon. I didn’t even think of him as being corrupted by the rift creatures, I just wanted him dead.”

“So, that’s what you guys did, right? And like, this Allura is so much worse,” he sniffed. “Zarkon didn’t choose to corrupted, but she did, knowing exactly how much evil its previous hosts were capable of.”

“I don’t know if have a suitable answer, either. I can tell you to let it go, but that won’t help how you feel. But I can tell you what I did wrong, and that was bottle up all my anger inside and blame the wrong people. I blamed Keith for being Galra. I almost killed your uncle Lotor as a result. So I can also tell you that vengeance is not the way to peace. I had started down the same path as the other Allura, but I had good friends who showed me a better way. If your aunt Nymuë had wanted revenge for trying to kill Lotor, then we wouldn’t be speaking about this now.”

Kieran nodded thoughtfully as his anger somewhat abated. There was more to think about than he had realized; in that moment of fury, everything he had learned about peace went out the window and he hadn’t been thinking clearly.

Meanwhile, touching down on the temple grounds, the twins urgently exited the shuttle and made their way toward the Altean sanctuary. Without delay, they flew past the stone warriors toward the inquisition room. At the same time, an Altean team in the alternate reality had just arrived at Oriande with the distorted Queen. Having received word that they had been betrayed by Romelle, Allura decided it prudent to secure the white lion by any means necessary, and tame it later. 

Having left Nymuë and Lotor with several guards, they had given them a chance to send a confidential transmission to the paladins. Allura’s abrupt departure was extremely concerning and surprising, but even more so was the cause of it. Alternate Romelle had found a way to deactivate the hoktril? Nymuë now needed to access their files on hoktril function but she couldn’t do so with the Queen’s guard breathing down her neck. It was only a matter of time before Allura decided to implant them into all her family members. Flashing a glance at Lotor, he knew what she needed. 

From what he could deduce, only certain people were being controlled; he had seen high ranking diplomats and politicians moving under a cloud of stupor, but it appeared lower ranking Alteans, service members, and her personal guard were unaffected. It made sense, if Allura was moving under a cloak of secrecy. She would simply choose the most loyal soldiers to follow her lead, but supplant the existing government by slowly subduing those with the most power. If he had learned anything from his time spent on earth, subjected to Flotor’s antics and exposed to populist sentiment, it would be how to get under their skin.

“You simpletons have no idea what Allura is doing, do you?” Lotor began as he regally stood and approached the guard. There were four in total, two for each of them. 

“You will address the Queen with the proper respect,” the nearest soldier replied.

“Queen, you say?” Lotor laughed and shook his head. “She’s nothing more than a figure head. An antiquated, yet twisted and corrupt shadow of her former self.”

“That is enough!” exclaimed the head guard. “You will not refer to her majesty with such crassness. You have no idea how Queen Allura has saved our people from the Great War and continues to protect us with Voltron.”

Lotor really had a good chuckle at this one. He was so loud that the two overseeing Nymuë became distracted by his obstinance. “We are the ones who breached this reality to save all of you from Haggar and Sendak. My family and friends risked their lives to win this war. And where was Voltron that whole time? Voltron was stuck in a time warp and didn’t emerge for another two years as a direct result of Allura and the paladins attacking your leader, the Lotor from this reality, and leaving him for dead.”

“You are lying, those are all lies,” cried the youngest of the squad. “The Queen never did any of that. That... is not what they taught us in school!”

“No, of course not. Why would she disclose her failings to you? Do you have any idea who I am or who she is, then?” he asked, pointing to Nymuë. “Why do you think Allura kidnapped us from our own reality and brought us here against our will?”

“Don’t listen to him,” her captain admonished, “he’s just trying to trick us.”

“You never answered my question, do you know who I am?” Lotor demanded, well aware that he towered over the wavering soldiers. His stature was intimidating, but his presence was commanding.

When they all declined to answer, he continued, “Perhaps you can do a little research. All this information is readily available on earth and in the Galra republic. It is in the records of every world in our reality. It seems all of you have been witlessly manipulated to further her own ends.”

“You can’t sway us so easily. You’re just trying to save yourself.”

Lotor smiled and watched his opponents become increasingly irritated and unbalanced. “Your so-called Queen invites the wrath of multiple worlds and all out war. Not the peaceful and diplomatic society you stand for is it? And not the wisest course of action, considering you know nothing of our capabilities.”

“Even if any of that is true, she captured you didn’t she? You’re not as powerful as you like to think,” Captain Kera sniped. All four of them were on edge, actively trying to defend the honour of their Queen.

“You have just proven you no longer stand for Altean virtues. You have fallen as low as Allura has. What business does she have taking hostages in a time of peace?”

“What if you’re just a criminal and she’s trying to prevent you from declaring war?”

And so this roundabout diatribe continued for thirty five minutes, granting Nymuë more than enough time to hack into their medical databases and retrieve files on hoktril function.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apologies to geneticists out there... I can only do so much since I only have cursory knowledge of inheritance. Ah, my headcanon about why the Galra can mate with just about any species in the universe is because sentient life forms were seeded by the life givers. They all have the same number of chromosomes we do, their biology, is more or less similar to ours with some minor differences. Because galra lifespans are so long (a millennium just like the Alteans), there have been fewer opportunities to evolve, and therefore, have not diverged enough, evolutionarily-speaking, to be unable to mate. 
> 
> Anyway, Lotor’s sons, didn’t end up inheriting the Altean magic genes, so that’s why they can’t go to Oriande. They look a lot like their dad too.


	20. Tricks and Treachery

“We must go to the medical bay immediately!” Romelle commanded the nearest medical officer, as she propped up a staggering and incoherent Flotor.

“Right this way, the regeneration chambers are available for use...” replied a courteous Altean woman, dressed in medical blue. 

“Thank you, do you have a shuttle chair? He will not be able to walk there.” 

“Yes, of course,” she replied as she called for assistance. 

The young medic became increasingly concerned for Flotor’s wellbeing, as Romelle’s assessment en route revealed all of the symptoms of severe head trauma. Flotor also played up the retching and gagging, as he clutched the arm rests and doubled himself over. Feeling panicked, she told them she would rush them to a private bay, reserved for the Queen’s own use, and readied the medical pod there. 

With her back turned to her charges, she felt a prickling heat on her neck after which she suddenly felt faint, as her vision clouded over. The last thing she saw as she was lowered to the ground was the excruciatingly bright lamp above her. She had been injected with an anesthetic. In a single fluid motion, Romelle lifted her up, placed her in the pod, and programmed the regeneration time for two quintants. 

Flotor was pleasantly surprised. He had imagined he would have to subdue both of them and hadn’t known at all that Romelle was in fact, free of that insidious hold.

“I was certain they had gotten you!” he exclaimed.

“They did, at first. I’m so sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was to turn against my own family. Especially Nevé.”

“Then what happened? Why are you not subject to that godforsaken device?”

“I don’t know. Someone must have turned it off remotely.”

“Does that mean they can turn it back on?”

“I don’t know, either. If I could turn against you at any point, then perhaps we should split up to look for the girls. I assume that is our first priority.”

It didn’t seem as though she noticed Nevé had overridden the hoktril implant so he declined to tell her for now, in the event she became compromised again. “I am afraid I will also be unable to remove the implant from you until we know more. We have just been informed that the other Romelle was able to deactivate the device, but it may very well have cost her her life.” He was incredibly grateful for the hairpins which still relayed information directly to him. Otherwise, he would have attempted to remove the device immediately, given their access to medical equipment. 

“So she must have turned off mine. But how am I still alive?”

“I believe that is what Lotor is attempting to research in the record room.”

“What should we do now? How are we going to save all these people if turning off the thing will kill them?”

Flotor scanned the room. “There may be records here that cannot be accessed from the outside. They will be encrypted and accessible only by Allura. She is a creature of habit and has always yearned for days of old. If I am not mistaken, retinal scans were still in vogue during Alfor’s time.”

“How are we going to get that?”

He smirked as he held up Allura’s necklace. “With this. Override keys were used in case of eye injuries or any sort of adverse event obscuring the retinas.”

“Fucking crabnuggets! Did you swipe that when you threw up on her?”

“Indeed,” he replied as he inserted the crystal pendant into the keyhole on the medical console. 

The entire hoktril database appeared in numerous files on the interactive touchscreen that opened before them, including a live feed of Eos and Esmé being held in an adjacent medical bay. 

“Oh no!” Romelle cried, as she watched them struggle against having their heads shaved, “they’re hurting them!” 

“I must stay and deactivate the devices. Do you think you can help them? They are right here, down the hall, first left,” their father said steadily as he pulled up a map.

“I’m on it,” she replied as she grabbed several more hyposprays from the cabinet and flew out the door. 

Scanning herself into the room, her presence went unnoticed as the five officers sought to restrain the kicking, biting, and screaming girls. Romelle preyed upon that advantage as she wordlessly injected the hyposprays into the necks of the nearest officers, causing their immediate collapse. Eos slammed the back of her head into the cheek of her captor, knocking him to the ground, while Esmé stomped on the leg of hers. Romelle easily disabled those two, who then also fell unconscious. The last one managed to land a punch against the medic but was then subject to a flurry of kicks and punches from the two sisters. He was easily subdued in the end. 

Throwing all of the Alteans into the regeneration chambers and programming the cycle for two days before their release, the girls asked Romelle how she escaped Allura’s control. “I suspect the other Romelle from this reality had something to do with it. But we should hurry to your dad. I don’t know when or if I will fall under their influence again.”

“This seems too easy. Either it’s a trap or Evillura is really incompetent,” Eos whispered as they ran down the hall.”

“She probably didn’t think things through before acting on them. Like kidnapping our parents is so stupid on so many levels.”

“I am relieved neither of you are harmed,” their aunt said gratefully. 

“Thanks, auntie.”

The relief on Flotor’s face was palpable as he cupped their faces tenderly and then gathered them in his arms. “Thank the nonexistent gods you are alright. Are you hurt at all?”

“Not really,” they smiled. “We hurt them quite a bit though, for trying to shave our heads and implant that horrible device. We’ve more or less trained our whole lives for this!”

This stoked his ire even more so than before and he ignored their humour. After he was through with that witch, her legacy and memory would be nothing more than a bad aftertaste. Barely able to contain his fury he asked, “And you were able to remove Allura’s powers?”

“Yeah, just her Oriande ones though. We didn’t have enough time to cleanse her of the dark entity.” The girls were stunned as they had never seen such a cold, calculated rage from their father. 

“You have both done remarkably well, mastering your abilities in such a short time. Your camouflage was phenomenal.”

“Thanks, Papa,” they sighed as they hugged him again. 

“I will not allow her to lay a finger on any of you,” he vowed. “I can, however, use your assistance. Our next mission is mass emancipation from the hoktril. However, if they are prematurely disconnected, the victim will die. We must discover how to do so safely in a short period of time.”

“What about Maman and Papa?”

“For now, we must leave them be. They have been granted three days to research the secret of the white lion. Until we free Nevé from the device, we cannot make a move as they could kill her.”

“Then they must be in a record room,” Eos replied. “We need weapons, we need to barricade this room and find an alternate exit, and we need to access all of the research and medical files. We will need back up as well. Papa, can you request assistance from earth and from the Galra republic?”

“I still have retinal scan access to the facility,” Romelle offered. “I can take a medical cart, and load it with weapons.”

“Good, thank you, Romelle. I shall entreat my allies for assistance. They have remained steadfast in their allegiances due to our war efforts long ago. We shall set up the barricade when you return,” Flotor called as she stepped out. He noticed the girls waited until she was gone before revealing more information.

“And we’ll help you hack into the system. You have general access, but Allura will have multiple safeguards against unauthorized access since it’s such an illegal undertaking.”

“You know how to hack Altean computers?”

They sighed. “Sorry to have kept secrets from you, Papa. We can probably tell you now that we’re set to retire, but our particular skill set was always optimal for espionage. We’ve been spying on this reality and relaying intel on them for ages. Diplomacy is, after all, closely tied to intelligence gathering. The art and writing thing was just a cover, although we did enjoy it too.” 

“We allowed Allura to capture us, to make her think she had an edge over you and let her guard down,” Esmé admitted as she cracked her knuckles. “We play dumb a lot of the time so no one will suspect us. But this whole fuckbiscuit of an enterprise is about to go to hell in a fucking handbasket. And that yeasty fuckflake is going to jail for he rest of her fucking life.”

Flotor couldn’t help laughing and shaking his head. His daughters had fooled even him for god knows how long but they were as adorably foul-mouthed and formidable as their mother in secret. They set to work quickly and he watched in awe as their fingers flew over the com screens. The first thing they discovered was that their mother was already in the system, so they quietly granted her key code unlimited access.

“Alright, Papa, here it is and it’s pretty simple, thankfully. The subject only dies if Queen Allura wants them to. So if a hoktril is deactivated without her approval, then it automatically shortcircuits and cuts off autonomic function in the brain stem. Oh fuck, but to turn them off, we need a simultaneous retinal scan and override key activation.”

“What if we get our Allura to scan?”

“Not enough time. She’s probably with Voltron right now getting Ananas and Avé to Oriande.” 

“That is also where that witch is headed,” Flotor said. “I hope they will be alright.”

“I can’t believe you used to date her, Papa! And they’ll be fine. They have some tricks up their sleeves too.”

“It was a lapse in judgement. And I am very relieved to hear it. I cannot stand the thought of losing any of you.”

“Maman is telling us I need to get to her right now,” Eos said. “Ok, plan B, I need to access the record room. Here is a video feed of them right now. Looks like Papa is doing really well distracting the five guards.”

“Wait,” exclaimed Esmé, “if Allura is the only one who can turn off the hoktril, how is Romelle free?”

“She said it had been the other Romelle who liberated her, but we now know she has no such access,” Flotor gasped. “Romelle knows I have Allura’s key!”

“Then she was faking it! And now knows our advantage and location. We need to get out of here now. Allura is trickier than we thought.”

“Feed, get the feed up! Is there anyone on the other side of this door?” cried her sister. 

To their dismay, a small army of Altean soldiers was gathering outside the medical bay, lead by Romelle. 

“Aw, fucknuggets,” the girls groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ananas is pineapple in French. They like using food nicknames. 
> 
> Sorry for the delay, I hit a mental health snag. I’ve also somehow gone from 2 WIPs when Phoenix started to 5 WIPs... so also another reason for the delays. Uh, if you’re interested in reading about a revolution to overthrow the Altean monarchy, or a shotor fic where Shiro never died, by all means.
> 
> I also apologize, I don’t have a set schedule per se, but all the worlds except for the shotor au, are tied together and revelations are made simultaneously. So I generally update a couple chapters for each at once. The turnaround for the next chapter here will be quicker. Don’t want to leave you guys hanging for 500 years after this rollercoaster.


	21. Sator Square Operatives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SATOR  
> AREPO  
> TENET  
> OPERA  
> ROTAS
> 
> Palindrome in every direction

“I’ve frozen all the doors for now; no one can get in or out without brute force so that’ll buy us a bit of time. I’m copying all the hoktril files,” Eos said. “What are you doing over there?” 

“I recognize this code,” Esmé replied. “It’s a distress call that’s encrypted into communication channels, but this shouldn’t exist in this reality. The Blade here use a different code.”

“How do you know all of that? Unless you are...” Flotor asked, trailing off.

“Yeah, we’re highly classified operatives for the Blade. None of them even know our true identities. They only know us as Agents Sator and Rotas.”

“YOU are the Sator Square operatives?” their father asked incredulously. Very few even knew of its existence. “I wondered why they would choose a Latin palindrome from earth,” he mused aloud. 

They both giggled. He didn’t yet know that the other three agents, Arepo, Tenet, and Opera were also his children. “Papa, the Blade don’t even know that Agent Tenet is a pair of identical twins,” Esmé said slyly. “They somehow conned them into letting “her” take the test twice, but we’ll let Baie Bai tell you the story.”

“Our mission has been to infiltrate Allura’s headquarters because Blade members from this reality have been disappearing without a trace. We’ve suspected it was related to her hoktril development but we’ve never been able to get this close to her inner chambers,” Eos explained. 

“Kidnapping all of you was a stroke of luck,” Esmé continued. “Now we have all the evidence we need, but also the jurisdiction to enact martial law since they’ve violated innumerable laws and treaties. But we need to find this Blade, whoever they are, right now.”

“We go through the vents. I will find Maman and retrieve the package from her,” Eos said, “and you two will secure our agent. I’ve uploaded the map and location into your suits. We meet in the record room.”

“Done.”

Flotor felt awash with pride and joy by the tacit implication that all his children were currently among some of the highest ranking Blades of Marmora. Opera had to be Anteros. Though the Sator Square was relatively unknown, Opera had garnered a fierce reputation outside of the Blade, universally feared and revered. Criminal organizations, and underground mobs were systematically dismantled; rumours swirled that O never missed a target. He briefly wondered how the girls hid their strawberry curls as they were quite distinctive. Most of all, however, that they chose to embrace their Galra heritage brought healing in ways he never expected. It was a reflection of the love that they grew up with, a love he never had as a child. He didn’t think it possible to love his wife and children even more, but in that moment, he did.

Outside the medical bay, Romelle was conferring with Allura before they made their move.

“My Queen,” she began on the communicator, “we have Lotor and his two daughters surrounded. His act of vomiting was merely a parlour trick. They have divulged to me that he took your override key and that the girls somehow removed the power of the lifegivers from you. They currently believe me to be on their side.”

“Well, done, Romelle,” Allura replied as she touched her neck. “So he has, so he has. No matter, he cannot do much damage with the limited access it provides. I have more than one, after all. I am keenly interested in the abilities of his daughters. Removed my powers, you say? That is quite remarkable; so it seems as though they already have the power of the White Lion. Be a darling and subdue them for me. I could use allies such as them. It is of no consequence. I am already at Oriande, as it were, to regain my powers... and so much more,” she smiled devilishly. 

“What about the rest of his family? The Lotors have another set of twin daughters who could also access Oriande.”

“Oriande belongs to me. My guardships will only permit my entrance.”

“And what if they bring Voltron?”

“Ours is much more powerful, dear. They will be no match.”

“There is another way, majesty.”

“What?!”

“Lotor has developed interreality suits that may traverse from their Oriande into yours. It is possible they have completely bypassed your guards already.”

“I must go, Romelle,” Allura interjected, cutting their briefing short. She inwardly cursed Flotor for purposely delaying her in such a manner. 

At the same moment, Anaïs and Avélie having sliced through realities, had arrived in the chambers of the White Lion. The filtering mechanism had not differentiated between the identical twins, and they did indeed arrive at the final trial together. Not knowing what to expect, they were surprised the lion did not immediately attack. Rather, it paced to and fro, wary and watchful, as it scrutinized the new attendees.

“Uh, hi Lion? That’s your name right? Hi?” squeaked Anaïs. “Nice to meet you, you know, I’ve kinda met you before, you know the other you, but I guess you wouldn’t know that... or would you? Do you guys all know each other?”

The pacing became more agitated as the Lion shook the ground with its ear splitting roar. It was clear it was displeased with that response.

“Uh, ok, right. Lion is not your name, then. Cat? Kitty? Here, Kitty, Kitty?” she tried lamely.

The increasingly cantankerous feline bared its teeth and growled again, ready to charge.

“Fuckwafers, what do we do?” she whispered. “Lion isn’t its name!”

“What was the greeting Lady Ven’tar used?” Avélie hissed quietly.

“Panicking, can’t remember!”

Just as the lion rushed them and was about to clamp down with its fearsome jaws, they dodged and sprang to their feet to ready themselves for a second attack. 

“This isn’t you, Kitty,” Anaïs called sympathetically. “It isn’t like you to want to hurt us. What did they do to you?” 

“You’re an old cat aren’t you?” Avélie gasped. “Is kitty too modern a word for you?”

The great cat hesitated but went for the kill again. 

As the twins dodged and fell to the ground a second time, both came to simultaneous realizations.

“Peace, upon you,” Anaïs practically shouted.

“Grimalkin,” Avélie added in a panic.

With that, the ancient beast halted in its tracks and lay down at their feet. Both girls shakily exhaling a breath of relief, they sat down beside him and nuzzled its ethereal mane. 

“See, I knew that wasn’t you,” Anaïs murmured gently. “You’re a good Grimalkin, aren’t you? Who’s a good boy? Who is it?” His low grumble felt almost like a purr under her arms.

“Whooo boy, I’m glad you were here sis. We make a good team. But now we have to focus,” Avé said as she called her brothers on the transceivers. 

“The lion is secure,” she began.

“Good,” Anteros responded. “I’ve received word from the Blade that a corrupted Voltron is on its way to your location. It’s also highly likely the Allura there has lost her Oriande powers and is arriving to reclaim them. You will need to face her in Oriande to prevent that while we take on Voltron. They won’t be able to form it without her.”

“Are you going to call Veritas and Viris to assist you?”

“We can’t. My informants tell me they’ve activated our anemone tech and are using it against them.”

“Those frowsy fucking fellmongers!” cried both sisters.

Meanwhile, as Nymuë was waiting for the arrival of her daughter, and Lotor was still arguing with the guards, she nearly gave herself away by shrieking out loud. Phase one of hoktril testing had been done on non-Alteans because research from the Altean empire revealed magical beings were the most resistant to its influence. Human subjects had been taken from a facility that cryogenically froze the deceased for future research. Allura had revived those individuals for her own testing and to this day, the most successful ones became her servile paladins. Paladin of the Yellow lion: Hadrien Beaumont. Paladin of the Black lion: Trajan Beaumont. 

Nymuë was now ready to punch that bitch into the next century, while still forced to pretend to be her slave.

At the same time, Esmé nearly screamed loud enough to give away her location as she and her father wound their way through the lower catacombs of the castle. For there in a filthy cell, barely alive, eyes rolled back, and tongue lolling, was Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since pineapples are berries, Anaïs is also called Baie. And since Ave means farewell, they call Avélie Bai sometimes.


End file.
